When one second-year College of Medicine student found himself on a mission to build upon what he had learned in NEOMED’s required ethics courses, the idea of Bioethics Club came to life.
President Venkat Tondapu discussed Bioethics Club with The Pulse.
Tell us about Bioethics Club.
Bioethics Club is a newly developing student organization oriented towards the appreciation, understanding and discussion of ethics and the humanities. After recognizing the limited purview provided by required ethics courses, our club set forth to enlighten students on the substantial role of ethics and humanities in clinical decision-making and patient care. Through the use of case presentations, speakers and discussions, our club aims to transform one’s views of ethics and provoke their interest into the “why” of what they do.
As medicine and pharmacy students, we hope to one day provide our patients with the best possible care while simultaneously understanding the reasoning for our actions. At Bioethics Club, we believe that it is only through the recognition and respect of values and morals that this is possible, thereby provoking us to educate our peers on the role of ethics and the humanities in the medical field.
Why should students consider joining Bioethics Club?
As medicine and pharmacy students, our only exposure to ethics has mainly been in mandatory classes that are forced to present a large sum of information in a short period. As such, ethics may come to be monotonous and mundane. The truth, however, is that when we begin to dissect clinical issues piece by piece, a whole realm of questioning opens that requires new answers. We want students to come join us for one of our clinical discussions and see just how much thought goes into every action we take as health care professionals.
What’s special about your club?
The Bioethics Club looks to partner with of other student organizations as clinical ethics can be subdivided into its own specialties, such as psychiatric ethics, surgical ethics or family care ethics. Odds are, if you’re interested in a field or have already matched, we will discuss some of the ethical issues presented in that area.