Ethics in Practice:

The JCB Clinical, Organizational and Research Ethics (CORE) Network

"What's in a name?" A fair bit, as it turns out. That which we once called the JCB Clinical Ethics Group is now known by another name, the JCB Clinical, Organizational and Research Ethics (CORE) Network. This short piece highlights the impetus for the name change, and provides some classic who-what-where-when-why-and-how content.

Over the past 10 years, the Bioethicists from the JCB healthcare partners and the JCB Ethics Fellows have been coming together to create a forum for peer support, exchange of ideas, and quality review -- to respond to the needs of their organizations toward achieving the JCB mission "to improve healthcare through leadership in bioethics research, education, practice, and public engagement." Bioethicists are employed by all JCB-affiliated healthcare partners and have a broad spectrum of responsibilities including consultation, education, policy development/review, and leadership and scholarly activities related to clinical, research and organizational ethics issues. Many of the Bioethicists' activities focus on systems change and building ethics capacity throughout an organization toward an integrated, sustainable ethics service that is effective in improving patient care, staff support, and an ethical organizational culture.

The former Clinical Ethics Group began with about a dozen Bioethicists; today the CORE Network is comprised of over 30 members, including 27 Bioethicists from its affiliated healthcare organizations, 3 Ethics Fellows, and members of the JCB Management Team. The CORE Network represents the largest multidisciplinary group of Bioethicists working in health care organizations in Canada, and is likely the largest in the world. In addition to their roles in the healthcare organizations, many Bioethicists teach in the JCB graduate programs, and help supervise graduate students' thesis research or applied learning in bioethics (the practicum). The Bioethicists and Fellows have access through the JCB to continuing education, professional development and support through networking, workshops, individual mentorship and coaching sessions, and weekly bioethics seminars. Several members have worked closely with Jennifer Gibson, Director of Partnerships and Strategy at the JCB, to tap her expertise in strategic planning, ethics program development, priority setting, and organizational ethics more broadly.

The renaming of the CORE Network wasn't simply adopting another name that "smells as sweet" but rather represents 2 years of strategic planning at the JCB. We have our new name (after a long search) thanks to Brenda Knowles, our JCB Director, Administration and Operations, whose branding savvy and quick wit seemed to generate it effortlessly where many had labored before without capturing the essence of the group. "CORE Network" better reflects the multiple roles in JCB healthcare ethics practice, as well as the diversity among JCB health care partners. Some members of the CORE Network work primarily in research or organizational ethics rather than clinical ethics, and most members have hybrid roles that often include all of clinical, organizational and research ethics. The CORE Network’s new name not only better reflects its membership — it also underlines how central or "core" it is to the JCB. Without it and our healthcare partners, many have said, the JCB would be "just another bioethics centre".

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