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Applications open April 15, 2026

The Pediatric Bioethics Certificate Program (offered in partnership with our sister program, the Center for Bioethics at Harvard Medical School) provides a broad overview of critical topics in bioethics through the lens of unique considerations related to care for, research involving, and policy considerations related to children and adolescents. Participants engage in weekly in-depth exploration of many specific questions and problems encountered in the clinical setting. It is intended both for health care professionals engaged in pediatric clinical care with a special interest in bioethics, as well as those who have studied ethics on a more academic level but have no clinical experience and/or have developed an interest in pediatric ethics through work in another related field such as law, public policy, public health and beyond. Hospital ethics committee members (clinicians and non-clinicians), and pediatric faculty that provide ethics education for residents, fellows, and medical students, will find this course particularly relevant to their work and professional development. Core learning units include establishing a framework for ethical decision-making, addressing ethical questions associated with extreme prematurity, making end-of-life care decisions, allocating limited resources, establishing the structure and functions of hospital pediatric ethics committees, and many more.

Details

  • Weekly online sessions include lectures followed by small group seminars facilitated by course faculty.
  • Sessions will be held Thursday mornings from 9:00 to 11:30 a.m. ET, September 10, 2026 through December 10, 2026. No sessions will be held during the ASBH Annual Conference (October 15) or on Thanksgiving (November 26).
  • Courses are taught primarily by faculty from Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, with invited guest faculty from other U.S. and international institutions.
  • An optional in-person culminating event will be held on December 10, 2026 in Boston, MA, including dinner on December 9, 2026 (travel and accommodation costs are not included in tuition).
  • Cost: $4,750 USD
Learn more and apply

Course Directors

Mark Mercurio

Mark R. Mercurio, MD, MA

Executive Director of the Center for Pediatric Bioethics, Boston Children’s Hospital
Professor in Residence, Harvard Medical School; Member, Harvard Medical School Center for Bioethics
Robert Truog

Robert D. Truog, MD, MA

Director Emeritus of the Center for Bioethics, Harvard Medical School
Frances Glessner Lee Distinguished Professor of Medical Ethics, Anaesthesia, and Pediatrics, Department of Global Health and Social Medicine, Harvard Medical School; Dept. of Anesthesiology, Critical Care, and Pain Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital
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