National Catholic Certification Program in Health Care Ethics

register by august 25th for the 2025-2026 class

testimonials from our students

The certification program was simply excellent – thorough, cutting-edge information on beginning-of-life, end-of-life, and emerging bioethical issues presented in a clear, understandable format. I highly recommend this program to priests, seminarians, and consecrated religious who are seeking to articulately dialogue with the culture and counsel those with difficult bioethical questions.

—Sr. Shirley Lagerson
Sisters of Life
Suffern, NY
2024-2025 graduate

The NCBC Certification Program offers a rewarding and challenging educational opportunity to both foster and enhance knowledge in bioethics. Additionally, what is significant for me in my role as a Clinical Manager is that the program offers an up-to-date knowledge base of information, applicable to both my professional and personal life, that is faithfully grounded in the Catholic moral tradition.

 I am undeniably grateful for tremendous learning experience of the NCBC’s Certification Program. I earnestly and highly recommend it to interested Catholics and to those of good will.

—Russell A. Lee, MSN, RN, CRNI
Clinical Manager
Franciscan Health
Munster, IN
2024-2025 graduate

The program gives a fantastic overview of Bioethics challenges internationally. It also provides enough material to go even deeper if one is interested in specific subjects.

The program has not only taught me a great deal about Bioethics, but about the Catholic faith in general. It has shown the logic and consistency of Catholic teaching, as well as its prophetic anticipation of new ethical challenges. It has made my faith stronger.

As a German, I was wondering if the program is mostly for Americans. While it uses many US documents, I was very pleased to discover that its content is truly universal – it is Catholic in the best sense. I can highly recommend it.

—Dr. Florian Huber
Munich, Germany
2024-2025 graduate

The NCBC’s exceptional educational program offers an opportunity for academic and medical professionals, truly anyone interested in religious truth, to participate in a year-long, intensive study of solid, orthodox Roman Catholic biomedical moral theology. Through weekly online asynchronous engagements with a comprehensive curriculum taught by experts in the field, participants are offered transformative opportunities to engage actively in critical, contemporary conversations about human dignity, the common good, justice, freedom, and responsibility.

—Rev. Patrick S. Flanagan, CM
Chair & Associate Professor
Department of Theology & Religious Studies
St. John’s University
Queens, NY
2024-2025 graduate

The NCBC certification program has significantly contributed to my personal and professional development. It offered training on essential topics, including ethical challenges at the beginning of life, gender issues, ethics committees, ethical dilemmas at the end of life, and many other relevant subjects. As a chaplain, I wholeheartedly endorse this program for my fellow chaplains, aspiring chaplains, and all medical professionals to participate in this certification program. 

—Elias Mena
Board Certified Chaplain
Bakersfield, CA
2024-2025 graduate

Program Description

The National Catholic Certification Program in Health Care Ethics is a 30 week (nine month) immersive study in Catholic bioethics designed for busy professionals. It educates students on foundational principles and teachings of the Church’s moral tradition and prepares them to apply these principles and teachings in health care contexts.

  • Consists of four (4) modules, each focusing on specific bioethics and health care challenges across the lifespan.

  • Delivered fully online (Canvas) in an asynchronous format.

  • Taught by NCBC ethicists.

  • Assignments draw from NCBC publications, authoritative Church teaching, and the works of trusted academic partners.

  • Online tests assess student comprehension, and bi-weekly essays foster practical application of course content.

  • “Virtual office hours” offer opportunities to discuss course materials and interact with the instructor and fellow students.

Objective and Goals

The objective of the Certification Program is to train individuals—particularly those engaged in health care ministry—to effectively convey and apply the Church’s moral teaching as summarized in the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services. Upon completion of the program, students will:

  • Articulate the Catholic Church’s understanding of the inherent dignity of the human person as the objective basis for its moral tradition in health care.

  • Recognize the theological, moral, and medical dimensions of modern day challenges in health care and bioethics.

  • Apply Catholic moral teaching and the Church’s authoritative guidance to resolve complex ethical dilemmas encountered in clinical education, medical practice, and research.

Who Will Benefit from the Program?

  • Health care professionals & administrators

  • Ethics Committee members

  • Clergy and members of religious orders

  • Pro-life leaders

  • Teachers & professors

  • Public policy professionals

  • Researchers in biomedicine and life sciences

Continuing Education Credit Opportunities

  • Chaplains: The National Association of Catholic Chaplains has approved this program for 144 continuing education hours.

 

GRADUATE CREDIT OPPORTUNITIES

 

divine mercy university

Participants can receive nine (9) graduate credits in bioethics through Divine Mercy University upon completion of the NCBC Certification program. DMU is an accredited graduate school that educates individuals in psychology grounded in a Catholic Christian vision of the person. The nine (9) graduate credits can be used towards the 33-credit Masters in Psychology program or towards an 18-credit Graduate Certificate in Catholic Christian Psychology and Bioethics. Visit the Divine Mercy University website for more information.

St. Bernard’s school of theology and ministry

Through St. Bernard’s School of Theology and Ministry, an accredited graduate school that forms and educates men and women from the heart of the Church, participants can receive a 15-credit Graduate Certificate in Catholic Bioethics after the completion of the NCBC Certification program and two graduate courses at St. Bernard’s. Visit the Graduate Certificate in Catholic Bioethics webpage for more information!

holy apostles

Participants may enroll for nine (9) graduate credits through Holy Apostles College and Seminary, a fully accredited, coeducational Catholic undergraduate and graduate institution offering affordable educational programs true to the magisterium. The credits earned through dual enrollment may be applied towards a Master of Arts degree in Theology with a concentration in bioethics or a Masters of Divinity in the New Evangelization. Please visit Holy Apostles for additional information and requirements.

university of mary

Participants may enroll for ten (10) graduate credits through the University of Mary, a private Catholic university based in Bismarck, North Dakota. Credits earned may be applied toward the University’s master of science degree in bioethics. Please visit the University of Mary for additional information and requirements.