Clinical Ethics Ambassador Program
The mission of the Clinical Ethics Ambassador Program (CEAP) is to empower individuals within various units and departments in the clinical setting with fundamental ethics concepts, equipping them to proactively identify and address ethical concerns within their spheres of influence.
By fostering a community of Ethics Ambassadors, we aim to create a network of knowledgeable and vigilant professionals who serve as catalysts for early recognition and resolution of ethical challenges. Through collaborative education and open dialogue, our program seeks to further enhance the ethical climate of the UCHealth system.
The Clinical Ethics team at the Center for Bioethics and Humanities will train Ethics Ambassadors in common ethical challenges including capacity, substitute decision-makers, safe discharge, leaving AMA, professional integrity, non-beneficial intervention, and moral distress.
The course will span over 16 weeks and have 8 1-hour modules. An achievement badge will be available through Credly for those who complete the course and 8 hours of CME credits or Certificates of Attendance will be provided.
For more information, please reach out to Gianna.Morales@cuanschutz.edu.
Our clinical ethics courses are designed to foster critical thinking, dialogue, and practical application. Each session includes:
- Pre-class readings: Concise yet thought-provoking articles and relevant UCHealth policies that lay the groundwork for deeper discussion.
- Discussion-based learning: Class time centers on active, literature-informed dialogue around core ethical topics.
- Case-focused: Short presentations serve as launching points for iterative, collaborative analysis of real-world cases, emphasizing the complexities and nuances of clinical ethics in practice.
Modules Include: Each module focuses on a key area of clinical ethics, combining foundational knowledge with applied discussion.
- Clinical Ethics Consult Basics
- Autonomy & Decisional Capacity
- Surrogate Decision Making & Colorado’s Physician Proxy Process
- Safe Enough Discharge
- End of Life Ethical Issues
- Pediatrics
- Moral Distress
The Clinical Ethics Ambassador Program helped me feel like there was a more formal liaison between multiple teams, the patient and other parties that could see the patient and their situation for what it was instead of whatever the challenge was. Having a collaborative approach to the hardest situations you can encounter in patient care took a portion of the moral distress away that I have felt in working with the unhoused population. I can trust there will be someone I can loop into my case on the ethics team who will advocate for my patients. You don’t have to be stuck in a hard place with your patient or their situation.”
Brooklynn Booker, RN
Care Manager the Housing Transition Team at UCHealthBeing an ethics ambassador has helped me refine so many skills: problem-solving, utilizing cognitive screens to give MDs objective data to put toward their capacity evaluations, advocating for patients who don’t have family or social support, especially geriatric patients who are facing fragile situations. This role is an opportunity to be part of the solution, not just bring up problems. Gathering our multidisciplinary team where everyone plays such a pivotal role working together and finding what might be best for a patient that day and for the long term, so they don’t end up coming back to the ER."
Stephanie Bigley, OTR
Occupational Therapist at UCHealth's Emergency Department