Abstract

Background Healthcare ethics consultants require specific competencies to perform their duties. In recent years, these competencies have been systematized and seen as part of professionalizing ethics consultation (e.g., in American Society for Bioethics and Humanities’ “Core Competencies” or the Akademie für Ethik in der Medizin’s “Ethics Consultation Curriculum”). While there is clarity and agreement regarding the necessary competencies (e.g., knowledge of ethical reasoning approaches, skills for conducting case consultations), the conceptual foundation of the associated competence management (as deliberate governance of competencies) remains relatively thin (e.g., competence models and profiles). Such management helps to deliberately shape the personal and organizational development of ethical competencies and, thus, promote the transfer of ethics within an organization, the quality of ethics consultation, and the care processes as a whole. Objective This article examines the transferability of established concepts of competence management to the field of ethics consulting. Method The article explains basic terms, concepts, and methods of competence management in the field of human resource management and organizational development and draws on the authors’ practical experience to show how this knowledge can be used for personal and organizational competence development in healthcare ethics consultation. Results (1) Fundamentals: competence models, competence profiles, competence management. (2) Individual competence development: tools for ethics consultants as individuals and in collaboration with others (in teams). (3) Organizational competence development: organizational responsibility for the development of ethics competencies. Conclusion The framework for ethics competencies needs to be expanded to include organizational aspects. Effective competence development requires systematic competence management. To this end, established tools from human resources management and organizational development should be used, which would need to be included in training ethics coordinators.