Secular Clinical Ethics Needs Its Own Version of the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Healthcare
Abram Brummett, PhD, Assistant Professor of Foundational Medical Studies, Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine

The existence of a bioethical consensus on key issues (e.g., informed consent, decision-making capacity, surrogacy, medical futility, conscientious objection, etc.) is foundational for the practice of giving moral recommendations in secular clinical ethics.  However, it is not clear what claims are established points of bioethical consensus, who consented, and what process was followed to elicit consent. We describe the closest thing the field currently has to a citable, nationally endorsed bioethical consensus—the 22 core references used to construct the questions for the Healthcare Ethics Consultant-Certified (HEC-C) exam. However, we show the core references are unsatisfactory because they are unwieldy, redundant, and inconsistent on important ethical issues. We argue that the field would benefit from creating a single consensus document on the fundamental issues of secular clinical ethics. We claim the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services (ERDs) can serve as a model for a consensus document in secular clinical ethics, what we call the Standardized Ethical Guidelines for Secular Health Care Services (SEGs).  The sustainability of clinical ethics will depend upon a bioethical consensus that is more clearly articulated and formed by a more transparent process that is inclusive of the broader community of experts working in the field.
​
Learning Objectives:
1.Understand the critical role of bioethical consensus in clinical ethics consultation.
2.Identify shortcomings of the current core references as a normative guide to ethics consultation.