Carol Taylor, PhD, MSN

Empiricism: The Ethics of “Trial and Error” Medicine

Carol Taylor, RN, MSN, PhD, is a founding member and now director of the Center for Clinical Bioethics and a Professor of Medicine and Nursing at Georgetown University. Experienced in caring for patients who are chronically and critically ill and their families, Carol chose doctoral work in philosophy with a concentration in bioethics because of a passion to “make health care work” for those who need it.

At Georgetown, Taylor directs an innovative interdisciplinary ethics curriculum grounded in a rich notion of moral agency for medical students and advanced practice nurses. She teaches in the undergraduate nursing curriculum, directs a practicum in clinical ethics for graduate students in the philosophy program, serves on the ethics committee, directs the ethics consultation service, directs the visiting scholars and researchers program, conducts ethics rounds and ethics case presentations, and develops professional seminars in clinical ethics for health care professionals and the public. Her research interests include clinical and professional ethics, and organizational integrity.

Taylor has a PhD in Philosophy with a concentration in bioethics from Georgetown University and a Master's Degree in Medical-Surgical Nursing from Catholic University. She now works closely with health care professionals and leaders who are exploring the ethical dimensions of their practice. She lectures internationally and writes on various issues in healthcare ethics and serves as an ethics consultant to systems and professional organizations. She is the author of Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins Fundamentals of Nursing: The Art and Science of Nursing Care, which is now in its 6th edition and co–editor of Health and Human Flourishing: Religion, Medicine and Moral Anthropology.

« Previous Speaker | Next Speaker »