The World Bioethics Day will be celebrated tomorrow at the Fiji National University’s (FNU), College of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences’ (CMNHS) to acknowledge the critical role of ethics in health care provision.
Organised by the Fiji Institute of Pacific Health Research (FIPHR), the theme for this year’s celebration is ‘Benefit and Harm’.
Acting Dean CMNHS Dr Donald Wilson who highlighted the importance of ethics in health workers said: “We are not only advocating for the vital importance of ethics in our daily practice and lives as students, staff and health professionals.”
“We are also creating awareness on the roles and functions of the College Human Health Research and Ethics Committee (CHHREC), the recently accredited body within the college, that can now vet health research proposals in the country,” Dr Wilson said.
The event will showcase how each of the five Schools of the College (School of Nursing, School of Public Health and Primary Care, School of Medical Sciences, School of Health Sciences and School of Oral Health and Dentistry) teach and address bioethics in health issues within their educational programs and research activities.
The event will be held at Pasifika Campus and will draw attention to human values in the face of rapid scientific and technical advancement.
This celebration is a first for the college and the Pacific region and the chief guest at the function will be the FNU Acting Vice-Chancellor, Dr William May.