The Program for Neuroethics and Clinical Consciousness (PNCC) at MedStar Washington serves as a small, special research division of the educational arm of the John J. Lynch, MD Center for Ethics. Devoted to the intersections between philosophy, neuroscience, and empirical psychology, the PNCC was founded by Christian Carrozzo in 2019 as a research program for visiting scholars. Today, the PNCC offers a specialized lens to the standard educational, consultative, and policy-related work of the Lynch Center. Areas in which this specialized lens has been influential include analyses of ethically complex cases involving neurocritical care, decisional capacity, death by neurological criteria, and covert consciousness.
In addition, the PNCC occasionally hosts accredited talks and related events, and continues to selectively accept visiting scholars of relevant disciplinary backgrounds to collaborate in investigating the ontological and ethically normative implications of ongoing advances within these fields.
To apply for a position as Visiting Scholar, please provide the following documents and submit directly to: Christian Carrozzo, Program Director for Neuroethics and Clinical Consciousness, christian.carrozzo@medstar.net
- Name and Institutional Affiliation
- Letter of Research Intent (500 words or less, describing your thesis, area of intended scholarship focus, and the time frame for which you are applying)
- Curriculum Vitae
- Letter of Recommendation (Optional)
Visiting Scholar applicants are expected to hold a midlevel post-graduate degree, e.g. MA, MS, MPH, or be enrolled in a terminal degree graduate program, e.g. advanced PhD or medical student. Applicants will be considered regardless of institutional affiliation or geographic location.
MedStar Washington Hospital Center, is a 900+ bed, Level I trauma center that provides a rich clinical ethics experience for volunteers at every level of training. Because the Center provides a 24/7, 365 day a year clinical ethics consultation service, running approximately 400 consultations yearly, volunteers are assured a broad and in-depth clinical bioethics experience.*
Summer Undergraduate Volunteer Program (SUVP)
Each year, the John J. Lynch, MD Center for Ethics at MedStar Washington Hospital Center invites applications to our 6-week Summer Undergraduate Volunteer Program (SUVP) beginning in June for students interested in clinical bioethics. A small cohort of undergraduate students are chosen each summer. The yearly deadline for applications for the SUIP is the last day of April, each spring.
Volunteers join the Lynch Center staff on clinical rounds in MedStar Washington’s nine intensive care units, attend meetings of the hospital’s ethics committee, including the Center’s subcommittees on education, consultation, policy, and organizational ethics, as well as shadow our consultants on bioethics case consultation requests. In addition, our volunteers can join staff on regularly scheduled interdisciplinary meetings and internal education activities, such as complex case discussions with medical residents, psychiatric ethics conferences, and a broad range of education programming for clinicians.*
Volunteers will be required to collaborate on ongoing projects with Lynch Center staff.
To apply for a Lynch Center volunteering opportunity, please submit the following:
- Letter of intent, outlining your interest in the field of clinical bioethics.
- Letter of recommendation.
- Unofficial academic transcript.
- Resume or Curriculum Vitae.
Completed applications and further inquiries should be sent to Christian Carrozzo at christian.carrozzo@medstar.net.