Medical Ethicists
Overview
Introduction
Medical ethicists are consultants, teachers, researchers, and policymakers in the field of medical ethics, the branch of philosophy that addresses the moral issues involved in medical practice and research. Medical ethicists often work as philosophy, religion, and health teachers. There are approximately 20,320 philosophy and religious teachers, and 255,360 health specialties teachers employed in the United States.
Quick Facts
Median Salary
Employment Prospects
Minimum Education Level
Experience
Skills
Personality Traits
Earnings
Medical ethicists often work as college professors in college departments of religion, philosophy, and health specialties. Philosophy and religion teachers earned median annual salaries of $79,930 in May 2023, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. Salaries ranged from less than $48,450 to $137,310 or more. Health specialties professors earned salaries that ranged from less than $52,300 to ...
Work Environment
Medical ethicists work in a variety of settings. Those teaching and conducting research will have a dramatically different work environment than those who attend patients in an intensive care unit. In general, ethicists specialize in the area they are most suited for, whether it is a fast-paced hospital, a crowded classroom, or a quiet library. However, as previously mentioned, many medical eth...
Outlook
Medical ethics has been a growing industry for more than 20 years, and this trend should continue. The sheer quantity of issues demanding attention from medical ethicists will undoubtedly continue to expand as advances in technology, like the mapping of the human genome, are made.
However, despite the bioethics boom, jobs remain relatively few in number. Only the most qualified experts m...