Template Ethics Consultant Appointment Letter to the ...



DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS MemorandumDate:(date signed)From:Medical Center Director (00) (or revise based on local procedures)Subject:Appointment to the Ethics Consultation ServiceTo:(Insert name and title of person being appointed) Thru: (insert title of appointee’s Supervisor) 1. This memorandum represents your formal appointment as a member of the (insert facility name) Ethics Consultation Service (ECS).2. Nationally, the VA has committed to improving ethics quality in health care and has developed an integrated approach to ethical leadership, ethics consultation, and preventive ethics. The ECS is the body responsible for improving health care quality by facilitating the resolution of ethical concerns. This team will report directly to the IntegratedEthics Council and meets at (insert time) on the (insert day) of each month. The Ethics Consultation Coordinator will chair the ECS meetings. The responsibilities of the team are to:Provide consultation services for health care professionals and patients on issues such as shared decision-making, end-of-life care, patient privacy, professionalism in patient care, ethical practices in research, resource allocation, and ethical practices in the everyday workplace.Provide educational programs to facilitate discussions of ethical issues among hospital staff.Recommend and review facility policy related to health care decisions and patients’ rights.3. Effective ethics consultation requires a range of skills and specific proficiencies, including:Knowledge, including familiarity with moral theory and bioethics concepts, health care practices, and organizational mission and policy.Skills, including ability to carry out ethical analysis, communicate effectively, and build consensus.Character traits, including tolerance, honesty, prudence, integrity, and courage.4. Beginning with your appointment to the ECS, and on an annual basis, you will be assessed with respect to these skills and knowledge areas, and will meet with the Ethics Consultation Coordinator to develop an individualized professional development plan to improve upon your baseline proficiencies. As a new member, you will also be expected to participate in the ethics consultation education plan which includes a variety of tools in various formats (ethics primer, articles, video, and seminars). Consultants should have a minimum of a basic level of skill or knowledge in all assessed items. For consultants who are “not skilled” or “not knowledgeable” in respect to one or more items, an action plan will be developed to help bring you up to a basic level. Due to the fact that healthcare ethics is a dynamic and multi-faceted field, all ethics team members will undergo targeted continuing education to help develop advanced-level skills in multiple proficiencies. 5. As a member of the ECS, you are expected to bring your expertise and active skill sets to meetings and consultations unless an excused absence is granted. You will be expected to attend 80% of scheduled team meetings and consultations (which occur randomly). 6. You and your immediate supervisor should collaborate to include IntegratedEthics activities in your functional statement and performance standards and adjust your work schedule accordingly so as to allow your full participation as noted above. 7. Thank you in advance for your willingness to serve the medical center through your participation on this service. You may contact (insert name) at extension (insert #), with specific questions concerning the ECS’s function and your responsibilities.(insert name of person in “From” line) ................
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