CAPHE-ACESS is a voluntary professional association whose members have an interest in pursuing or contributing to the professionalization of practising healthcare ethicists* in Canada.

Practising healthcare ethicists are not yet regulated anywhere in Canada. Regulation protects the public by defining the role and responsibilities of the the practitioners within a recognized profession, bringing accountability and a degree of standardization to the field. One step toward achieving such regulation, and protected title, is the development of practice defining texts such as a scope of practice statement, a code of ethics, a series of model practice standards statements, a set of core competencies, and educational requirements.

By working deliberatively with our members and other interested parties, we are creating these guiding documents reflecting the practice of healthcare ethics in Canada. Given our healthcare system and its primarily provincial/territorial oversight, regulation would ultimately be realized within each provincial/territorial jurisdiction. Our nationally developed resources are intended to assist with those regional efforts.