If you look at the word bioethics, there are two distinct parts to the word: bio and ethics. To fully understand what bioethics is, you’ll need to understand both the prefix and the root word. Once you learn about both of these terms, it’s fairly easy to grasp the concept of bioethics.
Bio and Ethics
The prefix bio can mean two different things – it can either relate to biology, the study of living organisms, or it can relate to biography, an account of a person’s life. In bioethics, the first definition is the important one. People in this field of study need to know about biology. While the study of biology covers humans, animals and plants, bioethics focuses on humans. More specifically, it focuses on medical biology. In philosophy, ethics is all about what is considered right and what is considered wrong. Figuring out whether something is good or bad when it comes to the health of individuals isn’t always black and white. This is where the field of bioethics comes in. Bioethicists ask questions about the morality of medicication, procedures and policies in the medical field, according to the Center for Practical Bioethics.
Examples of Bioethics in Action
While you might not be able to think of anything that you consider a bioethical concern off of the top of your head, you probably already know quite a bit about certain bioethical issues. Bioethicists may ask questions and study the effects of things like:
- Abortion
- Stem cell research
- The use of tax money for health care purposes
- Policies in specific health care facilities
- Broader healthcare policies and laws at the state or federal level
As you can see, bioethics is used in a variety of different settings. By working together, bioethicists can work for the greater good of humanity by determining what is and is not ethical and changing legislation and public policy in the healthcare industry. It’s important to note that these professionals don’t always agree with each other, however, so some issues are more controversial than others.
A Career in Bioethics
Many types of jobs in the healthcare field are related to bioethics. Clinical workers, for instance, have to make ethical decisions for their patients every day. These individuals usually haven’t taken many classes on bioethics. Other people work as a bioethicists in either research or academia. If you want this type of job, you’ll want to major in something relating to either medical sciences or liberal arts, but you probably won’t be able to major in bioethics. Once you enroll in a graduate program, you can start to take specialized courses that are more specific to your chosen field. While bioethics is starting to become more well-known, it’s still a fairly new field, so don’t be surprised if there are more job opportunities that focus on theory – teaching and research – than opportunities that focus on actually using bioethics in practice.
Related Resource: Pharmacologist
Bioethics may be a fairly new field, but it’s necessary to ensure that people are treated well when they’re in need of medical attention. If you’re interested in both philosophy and science, a career in bioethics might just be for you.