Clinical Ethicist jobs in Illinois

Company Description

At Northwestern Medicine, every patient interaction makes a difference in cultivating a positive workplace. This patient-first approach is what sets us apart as a leader in the healthcare industry. As an integral part of our team, you'll have the opportunity to join our quest for better healthcare, no matter where you work within the Northwestern Medicine system. At Northwestern Medicine, we pride ourselves on providing competitive benefits: from tuition reimbursement and loan forgiveness to 401(k) matching and lifecycle benefits, we take care of our employees. Ready to join our quest for better?

Job Description

The Nurse Ethicist reflects the mission, vision, and values of NM, adheres to the organization’s Code of Ethics and Corporate Compliance Program, and complies with all relevant policies, procedures, guidelines and all other regulatory and accreditation standards.

The Nurse Ethicist is charged with promoting ethical competence and moral resilience of nurses at all levels of the organization through education, initiatives to mitigate moral distress, and oversight of the Clinical Ethics Resource Nurse (CERN) program. The position has been created at the request of nursing executive leadership, even as the Nurse Ethicist will function as a core member of the Medical Ethics team.

The Medical Ethics Program responds to over 400 formal requests for clinical consultation each year spanning a broad range of concerns, medical specialties, and complexity. Requests from nurses (APNs, RNs, and Nursing Managers) account for almost 25% of the current clinical consultation volume, in no small part due to the highly visible role of the 25-30 CERNs who serve as point persons for ethical concerns for all ICUs as well as medicine, neurology, surgical, oncology, and other specialty units.

The NMH Medical Ethics Program promotes ethical competency of providers through monthly Ethics Grand Rounds, Unit-based Ethics Case Conferences, and an Ethics Foundations Course, among other initiatives. Recognizing that ethical dilemmas, uncertainty, and conflicts are a large contributor to staff distress and burnout, the program supports an active Moral Distress Consultation Service with demonstrated success in facilitating interprofessional communication, building moral resilience, and promoting ethical climate.

The Medical Ethics Program also partners with hospital administration, nursing leadership, and medical faculty to address organizational level issues when requested such as Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Initiatives and Advanced Care Planning Improvement Projects. During the COVID-19 Pandemic, the Medical Ethics Program led NM system-wide efforts to promote ethical allocation of scarce resources (ICU beds, ventilators, PPE) and developed guidelines for balancing patient rights with risk in visitation and discharge protocols. Promoted by the need for preparedness, the ethics program partners with key stakeholders in emerging and anticipated areas of need.

A robust Medical Ethics Committee includes diverse membership from among physicians, nurses, social workers, chaplains, administrative leadership, legal counsel, and community representatives, who assist in policy development and implementation of programs and who serve as ethics champions throughout the institution. A warm collegial exchange flows between the NMH Medical Ethics Program and its campus neighbors of the Center for Bioethics and Humanities at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, the Donnelly Program for Bioethics at Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, and the Ethics Advisory Board at the Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital.

Responsibilities: 

• Collaborates with Nursing leadership to identify ethics concerns of members of the nursing workforce at NMH/NMG.
• Develops and implements ethics education for NMH and NMG nursing workforce (Nurse Residency Program for all new NMH and NMG hires and Oncology Nurses; Ethics Grand Rounds for Nursing Week, Nursing Professional Development Fair).
• Oversees the Clinical Ethics Resource Nurse (CERN) Program.
• Promotes nurse well-being and retention through the expansion and implementation of programs designed to mitigate moral distress and promote moral agency/resilience, in collaboration with the Medical Ethics Director, Nursing Leadership, and the NM Office of Well-being.
• Conducts high quality independent and collaborative nursing ethics research and scholarship.
• Provides healthcare ethics consultation throughout the continuum of care, working collaboratively with healthcare providers, patients, and proxy decision-makers to deliver high quality and sensitive consultation to patients and their loved ones.
• Develops and provides multidisciplinary ethics education for staff, including physicians and house staff.
• Develops, reviews and revises system policies and guidelines requiring ethical guidance or oversight.
• Engages in preventive ethics activities and initiatives in collaboration with leadership and/or appropriate stakeholders, consistent with established mechanisms for documentation and reporting.
• Evaluates and improves healthcare ethics consultation methods, approaches, and ethics quality improvement.
• Contributes to system-wide medical ethics problem-solving as needed.
• Serves as a liaison and provides ethical guidance to relevant committees and high priority initiatives as needed.

Qualifications

Required:

• Current Illinois Nursing License (or eligible) in good standing.
• Master’s degree in bioethics or Master’s degree in Nursing, Public Health, Business/related field completion of clinical ethics fellowship/equivalent
• 3 years’ clinical healthcare experience in nursing, preferably in an acute care, academic hospital setting.
• Leadership experience in nursing, clinical ethics, or healthcare administration.
• 2 years’ experience providing ethics consultation as primary consultant, small group, or member of large committee.
• Healthcare Ethics Consultant Certification (HEC-C) or eligible for certification within 2 years of hire.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills; effective communication with diverse groups; ability to facilitate meetings; ability to manage conflict and build consensus.
• Sensitivity to diversity, bias, cultural responsiveness among workforce and patients / families / community.
• Critical thinking; creative problem solving; expertise in moral reasoning; appropriate personal attributes such as compassion and prudence.
• Strong skills in teaching, research, writing and professional presentation.
• Team-oriented professional with proven ability to work both independently and collaboratively in a complex interdisciplinary environment to achieve program goals and deadlines.

Preferred:

• Doctorate in Ethics or in Nursing with Ethics Concentration.
• 5 year’s clinical experience in nursing, preferably in an acute care, hospital setting.
• At least 5 years ethics consultation experience in a high-volume setting.
• Healthcare Ethics Consultant Certification completed.
• Academic productivity demonstrated; Experience in curriculum development.

Additional Information

Northwestern Medicine is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate in hiring or employment on the basis of age, sex, race, color, religion, national origin, gender identity, veteran status, disability, sexual orientation or any other protected status.