Course reflection
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Through the readings, assignments, debates, presentations and class discussions I saw a progressive growth and shift in my views regarding ethical research practices. We discussed topics such as animal ethics, human ethics and bioengineering. Specifically, we learned the effectiveness of openness and transparency in research on shaping public perception on research performed on animals and humans. Prior to this course, I did not know the abuse that many researchers' who conduct research on animals face from animal activists. I was deeply disturbed by this issue but it was an eye opening experience. Through the reading and class content, I was able to take part in thought provoking conversations to understand when race plays a part in research such as clinical research for the development of certain drugs. I was also made aware through the course material the significance of the consideration of race and gender when designing certain drugs. On the other hand, I realized how misleading and dangerous it can be to divide people based on race and gender. This course helped me become more confident about speaking out and standing up for topics and issues I feel passionate towards.
In our group projects we were able to create a Letter of Information (LOI) and Research Ethics Board (REB) Application. This was my first time writing both those documents and the collaborations of my team members and their different opinions helped achieve a high mark in both those assignments. The creation of a LOI was also valuable for my CEL rotation as we are creating a LOI for the non profit we are working with. This is a clear example of how material learned in our courses can be used in our rotations as well.
Assignments
Opinion Paper:
Interdisciplinary Skills Acquired: Communication, Critical Reflection and Evidence-based Decision Making
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In this Opinion paper, I had to answer two questions: 1. Do you believe the public would widely support animal research if they knew more about it?; 2. Has your position on the use of animals in research changed from the beginning of this course? How would you reply to someone who asks you if you feel animal research is morally and ethically justifiable?
Letter of Information (LOI)
Interdisciplinary Skills Acquired: Communication,
Leadership, Project Management,
Working in Diverse Teams
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We worked in a group of four to create a LOI on a preselected clinical research. The clinical research we created the LOI for is called: "Baby-OSCAR: Outcome after Selective early treatment for Closure of patent ductus ARteriosus in preterm babies—a statistical analysis plan for short-term outcomes (Bell et al)." In this research, extreme preterm babies were administered ibuprofen for early treatment of large patent ductus arteriosus (PDA). This was a multi-centred, randomised, placebo-controlled parallel group trial.
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Research Ethics Board (REB) Application
Interdisciplinary Skills Acquired: Communication,
Leadership, Project Management,
Working in Diverse Teams
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We used protocol from the LOI created previously to create a REB application. An REB application is needed to ensure that any research involving human subjects maintain ethical considerations and uses morally acceptable methods.
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