[Lawyer members of a hospital ethics committee, a training in bioethics?].

Abstract

As lawyer members of a hospital ethics committee, we wanted to address the question if being part of such a committee allowed us to call ourselves "bioethicists". Before answering, it is important to put Belgian hospital ethics committees in context, firstly by explaining their missions: defining general ethical guidelines in order to help physicians in their practice, providing for punctual advice and assessing every clinical research protocol which is proposed to a physician of the hospital. Theoretical information concerning the missions of Belgian hospital ethics committees is the opportunity to develop some thinking elements of about the role and duties of those committees. We can then wonder who are or should be the members of hospital ethics committees: what does the law say and what to think about it? Questions about ethics committees'missions and members allow us to come to the conclusion that the mere fact of being member of a hospital ethics committee is not enough to call oneself a bioethicist. On the one hand, experience should be accompanied by proper training; on the other hand, one should always be aware that "becoming a bioethicist" is a never ending journey.