Bioethics and Health Professionalism

1.0    Background
The Department of Bioethics and Health Professionalism (DBE) is located in the School of Public Health and Social Sciences (SPHSS).  The Department is developed for the advancement of bioethics at the University, throughout Tanzania and the East Africa region.

The Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences (MUHAS) have been offering bioethics core courses to undergraduate and postgraduate students since 2004. These are essentially cross-cutting core courses coordinated by the Department of Bioethics and Health Professionalism.

Vision of the Department
To be a National, Regional and International Centre for excellence in the teaching, research and consultancy services in Bioethics. 

Mission of the Department
The mission of the department is to provide outstanding tertiary education across the spectrum of Bioethics, through its academic programs, research, and consultancy with the aim of improving ethical care in research, clinic, and public health

2.0    Activities

2.1 Teaching: The DBE faculty in collaborate with faculty from other Departments, Schools, Institutes and adjunct/visiting faculty will teach bioethics courses including Master of Bioethics (MBE), Bioethics for Postgraduates (EE 600) and Health Professionalism (PF 100 -300) program. The Department is responsible for the administration and coordination of all academic activities in Bioethics at the University level

2.2 Research: Post-graduate students in the Department will engage in various research activities under the supervision of academic staff members. Also, through PhD programs, the faculty will be involved in independent research on major bioethics issues facing the country, the region and globe. Students and staff research will have major impact on department research output. Research collaborations with our partners will continue via joint grant applications, this will be a major source of income and sustainability for the department.

2.3 Consultancies and Public Engagement: The Department is the resource for bioethics consultant services within and outside the country. Potential sources of consultancies services are health higher learning institutions, research institution, and National regulatory boards like National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR), Commission for Science and Technology (COSTECH), Tanzania food and Drugs Authority (TFDA), Ministry of Health and Social Welfare (MoHSW), nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and Human Rights organization.

The Department will organize public conferences where current bioethical themes will be discussed and government officials will be invited and ultimately policy decision will be influenced. Faculty, staff and students will be involved in seminar groups, forums, and task force meetings to discuss and research cutting-edge ethical issues, to prepare publications, organize symposia and regional meetings and develop special continuing education courses and opportunities.

2.4 Outreach: The DBE faculty will be engaged in outreach activates to enable them to share Bioethics experiences and knowledge with other stakeholders.

3.0 Programmes

Postgraduate programme
Master of Bioethics (MBE) is a four semester programme that aims to train and produce a postgraduate with wide range of skills to deal with ethical dilemmas and offer solution(s) based on ethical framework.

Entry criteria
a)    Graduates from any recognized university with at least GPA of 2.7.
b)    Mid-careers: for instance, lawyers, administrators, social workers, veterinarians, researchers, industrialist, regulators and other professionals engaged in health associated fields with at least GPA of 2.7.