Abstract
With modernization of safety standards for microbiology outreach teaching laboratories, ethical challenges arise in teaching microbiology for the public good without short-changing students in under-resourced situations, or when institutional support is subpar. Still, educators want students to engage using applied skills for inquiry, research-based microbial learning activities – safely. Following several United States microbial outbreaks, federal investigation traced sources back to teaching laboratories. Policy discussions ensued. The American Society for Microbiology (ASM) Task Force provides recommended but not mandated guidelines; however, guidelines are not amenable by all. Here, a real-world, ethical scenario of a university-level outreach microbiology laboratory course hosted at several locations provides context for under-resourced challenges in safety compliance. In this example of biomedical and public health ethical considerations, upper administration puts the onus on instructors to assure safe labs for their students and the general public. Temporarily hired instructors without curriculum or sufficient institutional support are put in precarious positions with often egregious practices to get the job done. This scenario is examined with different public health ethical frameworks and principles: non-maleficence, beneficence, health maximization, efficiency of policy regulations, respect for institutional and instructor autonomy, justice, and proportionality balancing stakeholder concerns. Sample curricular strategies are employed to mitigate these challenges. Taking a utilitarianism framework of the greatest good for the most benefit, this paper advocates for social justice supporting access to education as a moral duty. Administrations should ensure instructors are supported sufficiently to provide safe, authentic learning experiences. Solutions for under-resourced outreach teaching are needed for public trust.
Highlights
Teaching microbiology laboratory courses safely has new meaning and ethical challenges
Administration lacking trained guidance makes top-down, unilateral decisions directly impacting educational safety standards: cuts online microbiology laboratory courses, allows other coursework to continue without safety oversight, and remains in violation of biomedical ethical standards in many host countries abroad for noncompliant storage, transport, access, and use of chemical and biological materials
The vision that all students who desire access to learning, should obtain it is addressed through the Partnership for Undergraduate Life Sciences Education (PULSE) with rubrics to measure and promote Vision and Change (Brancaccio-Taras et al, 2016)
Summary
Teaching microbiology laboratory courses safely has new meaning and ethical challenges. Real-world biomedical challenges and public health ethical dilemmas are not new for under-resourced institutions with faculty struggling to provide microbiology laboratory courses safely. Administration lacking trained guidance makes top-down, unilateral decisions directly impacting educational safety standards: cuts online microbiology laboratory courses, allows other coursework to continue without safety oversight, and remains in violation of biomedical ethical standards in many host countries abroad for noncompliant storage, transport, access, and use of chemical and biological materials. Faculty are temporarily hired, may have limited training in microbiology, little practical skill, nor aware of ASM resources or safety guidelines. Lacking preparation and with a knowledge gap in where to find resources, guidelines, or curricula, faculty rely on their prior knowledge; older methods of isolation from environmental sources are practiced. Each outbreak publicly raises awareness of emerging pathogens from animal sources and points to changing paradigms of outbreak from SARS, MERS, and COVID-19 (Salata et al, 2019; Guarner, 2020)
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