Clinical Ethics Fellow (Job ID: 9136)
FELLOWSHIP IN CLINICAL, ORGANIZATIONAL, AND RESEARCH ETHICS 2025-2027
Overview
The Centre for Clinical Ethics (CCE) at Unity Health Toronto and the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Toronto—in collaboration with the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids), and Sinai Health System (Sinai) — invite applications for a two year full-time fellowship in clinical, organizational and research ethics, starting in September 2025 in Toronto, Canada.
This is an externally funded fellowship and the funding has been secured.
Complete applications are due by the end of the day on Monday, March 31, 2025.
Program Goals and Vision
The primary purpose of the fellowship program is to train individuals to be competent practicing healthcare ethicists throughout the entire continuum of care and within both faith-based and non-faith-based healthcare environments, as well as to cultivate leaders prepared to contribute to the future of healthcare ethics practice. The program aims to train Fellows to be able to conduct clinical, organizational, and research ethics consultations, as well as to offer ethics education.
It is a central goal of the program for the Fellow to gain and enhance competencies in the following five domains: clinical consultation, organizational consultation (including policy review), research ethics review, the provision of ethics education, and academic bioethics scholarship. These competencies will be grounded in the roles of the practicing healthcare ethicist ethics expert, communicator, collaborator, leader, health advocate, scholar, and professional.
The program conceives of fellowship training as part of our contribution to the present and future of healthcare ethics practice and the discipline of bioethics. Consequently, we are committed to recruiting and training Fellows who are representative of the communities we serve, intend on practicing within the interdisciplinary field of clinical ethics, and passionate about working to address health disparities to ensure health equity for all.
The fellowship program supports Unity Health's commitment to promoting health equity and aligned position statements such as the Canadian Bioethics Society's commitment to embracing anti-oppressive and anti-racist actions.
Program Structure
A Fellow typically spends the first 6 months of their fellowship at Unity Health Toronto and/or with clinical ethicists working across some of the health systems served by the Centre for Clinical Ethics, where their time is focused primarily on immersive education. After this period, the Fellow begins to take on greater independence and responsibility, as they embark on a series of 6-month clinical rotations across partner organizations (CAMH, SickKids, and Sinai Health System) and ending with their final rotation at Unity Health.
Fellows can expect to work in-person, within a 9am-5pm workday. Although a Fellow's weekly schedule may vary depending on each rotation site's practices and current needs, approximately 70-80% of a Fellow's time is dedicated to onsite clinical/organizational activities, and approximately 20-30% of a Fellow's time is dedicated to structured learning and scholarship.
Fellows have the option to graduate from the program anytime between 18-24 months. Starting at 18 months, Fellows will have the option to undertake a summative review and exam to be eligible to receive their certificate of completion through the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Toronto. However, funding and learning opportunities remain available for two-years, which marks the completion of the fellowship. The final rotation will be focused on transition to practice. Fellows will only receive a certificate of completion if they remain in the program up to 18 months and complete fellowship requirements before the 18-month mark.
For greater detail about the structure and educational content of the program, and about its academic and clinical partnerships, visit https://ccethics.com/fellowship. Additionally, we invite all interested persons to attend an interactive, Zoom-based informational session that will be held on Monday, March 17 at 7:00pm (Eastern/Toronto time). Please find below a link to attend:
Topic: Unity Health Toronto CCE Fellowship Information Session
Time: Mar 17, 2025 07:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://ca01web.zoom.us/j/63932655637?pwd=oTfcISTOIpo83g4PYBtnBTy2OFVZ5C.1
Meeting ID: 639 3265 5637
Passcode: 398211
One tap mobile
+16475580588,,63932655637# Canada; +16473744685,,63932655637# Canada
Compensation
Fellows receive approximately CAD $55,000 per year and are eligible for a cost-of-living increase as determined by Human Resources. Salary will be finalized at the time of hiring. Fellows are entitled to paid statutory holidays.
In addition, the CCE will reimburse Fellows for their University of Toronto registration fees, as well as their registration fees and travel expenses for the Canadian Bioethics Society annual conference and/or (with approval) other relevant conferences/workshops.
As full-time temporary employees at Unity Health Toronto, Fellows are also eligible to participate in a comprehensive health insurance program.
Eligibility and Selection Criteria
Candidates typically hold a graduate degree in a field relevant to bioethics (e.g., bioethics, disability studies, equity studies, Indigenous studies, law, medical science, philosophy, religion, theology) and will also have undertaken coursework in ethics, including (but not limited to) bioethics.
Exceptional candidates whose learning and education have followed a different path (e.g., Indigenous elders, community leaders), and who can demonstrate advanced capabilities in abstract moral reasoning, creative analysis of ethical issues, formulation of recommendations and next steps for addressing complex dilemmas, organization of ideas, and written and oral communication in succinct and plain language, will also be considered.
Strong consideration is given to candidates who also bring applied experience in ethics or healthcare, such as familiarity working within a healthcare system (e.g., as a regulated or allied health professional), demonstrated interest in transferring academic skills to real world contexts (e.g., community-based research, knowledge translation), and/or a background supporting people as they make moral decisions in their everyday life (e.g., decision-making in a faith community, crisis workers).
If you are currently enrolled in a degree program, it is required that you will have completed your degree or have formally submitted your thesis for defense before the start of the fellowship, unless an exception is requested and granted prior to your acceptance of the position.
Unity Health Toronto encourages applications from qualified candidates, and we especially welcome applicants who are Indigenous, Black or racialized, persons with disabilities, people who identify as 2SLGBTQIA+, and all others who may contribute to the further diversification of ideas.
Applicants must already have or be able to provide their own Canadian work-authorization for the duration of the fellowship program. Unity Health Toronto and the University of Toronto cannot sponsor or assist with visa or work-authorization applications for this position.
Accessibility and Accommodation
Most rotation sites are physically accessible, and other accommodations will be provided as needed. Persons with disabilities will be accommodated throughout the recruitment process, based on their needs. If further information about accessibility or accommodation is beneficial during the application stage, please be in touch to discuss.
Applying
Please submit the following three items through Human Resources.
In all aspects of your application, please consider emphasizing how your work aligns with the fellowship program's commitments to equity, diversity, and inclusion.
- Your full curriculum vitae (no page limit).
- A cover letter of 1-3 pages.
- Your interest in healthcare ethics, motivation for completing this fellowship program, and how it would contribute to your career path and plan
- Your experiences in clinical, organizational, or research ethics
- Any unique expertise you have gained through interdisciplinary/interprofessional/international training and collaboration that would enrich the discipline of bioethics' capacities
- Your experiences in applied ethical problem-solving, health and social care settings, and/or with patients, service users, or other structurally vulnerable people
- Your experiences (in any context) related to consultation, policy review and development, teaching, knowledge mobilization, advocacy, leadership, collaboration, and scholarship
- Your sensitivity to faith-based and secular moral reasoning
- Scholarly project proposal: a 1-2 page statement, separate from your cover letter, which proposes a feasible bioethics-related project you would be interested in leading during your fellowship, and which could be completed in 1-2 years.
In your CV and cover letter statement, consider emphasizing:
It may be the case that this scholarly project proposal is or is not pursued during the course of the fellowship, especially insofar as a rotation site could benefit from your working on a particular project. The purpose of the proposal is to learn about your research interests and demonstrate your ability to craft a bioethics research project that could be completed as part of a fellowship.
We do not require a writing sample, reference letters, or a statement about preferred hospital rotations at the application stage. However, we may request any or all of these materials from candidates progressing through the recruitment process.
Recruitment Process
Applications will be reviewed by a committee that will include staff from the CCE and may include staff from CAMH, SickKids, Sinai, and other CCE partners.
While we appreciate all applications received, only those applicants selected for an interview will be contacted. Interviews will be held in March and/or April of 2025. All candidates who require accommodation to participate in the hiring process are asked to contact Human Resources. .
If you have questions about the posting, role, or application process, please contact Lynda Sullivan by email at Lynda.Sullivan@unityhealth.to
The deadline for receipt of complete applications is end-of-day Monday, March 31, 2025.