Ethics education in neonatology: The past, the present, and hope for a future

The discipline of bioethics came into being in the early 1970s in the wake of the major societal revolutions of the 1960s and the rapid rise of medical technology. Neonatology was first recognized as a subspecialty within the field of pediatrics in 1975. The extent to which advances in medical technology have transformed the field of neonatology is unmatched by those in any other field. This transformation has, in turn, given rise to ethical dilemmas in neonatal intensive care units with a regularity and intensity equally unmatched. In spite of this, very few fellowships in neonatal-perinatal medicine offer formal education and training in ethics.;This thesis will begin with a historical overview of prior efforts at ethics education in American medical schools, pediatric residency programs, and neonatology fellowships. The second and third chapters will describe and critically analyze a pilot educational module in ethics designed for and presented to the Division of Neonatology at Wake Forest School of Medicine. In closing, recommendations for future endeavors in ethics education for neonatology training programs will be outlined.