Membership is open to anyone interested in the specialties of bioethics and the health humanities. Our current membership spans a range of professional disciplines, including medicine, nursing, social work, theology, research, education, and public health.

ASBH offers members the opportunity to share their clinical or academic interests, network with others who practice in similar settings, and advance their careers. ASBH members are entitled to a range of networking opportunities such as special interest Affinity Groups, career development programs, and a membership directory. Learn more about the benefits here.

To log in, click "My Account" on the upper-right corner of the ASBH website. Provide your username (the email address you signed up with) and your password. If you have forgotten your password, click “Forgot Password?” or contact Member Services at 847.375.4745 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

You can access the database by clicking on “Membership Directory” under the Membership tab of the ASBH website menu. If you are not logged in at that point, you will be prompted to do so before you can access the page. After you log in, you can search by name, location, area of expertise, work setting, and the Healthcare Ethics Consultant-Certified (HEC-C) credential.

To update your contact information, log into the ASBH website and click “My Account” on the upper-right corner of the screen. Click “My Profile” in the left menu, and then update your name, credentials, phone number, email, or web links as desired using the “Edit” or “Add” buttons. Remember to click “Save” at the end! You can update your area of expertise, degrees earned, professional discipline, position, and primary work setting by clicking on “Account” and navigating through the Personal Info section. You can also update your information by contacting Member Services.

Yes, you can renew your membership online by logging in and going to “My Profile,” and then “Renew.” If you do not see an option to renew your membership within 2 months of its expiration date, please contact Member Services at 847.375.4745, or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

You can contact Member Services at 847.375.4745 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to request a receipt.

To join an Affinity Group, log into the ASBH website and click “My Account” on the upper-right corner of the screen. On the left side, click “My Profile,” then click on “Account” in the menu. Scroll to the bottom of the page, then check the box for each group you would like to join, and then click “Save.” Learn more about Affinity Groups here.

You can post to the ListServe by emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. from the email address affiliated with your ASBH account. If you are not sure which email address is affiliated, contact Member Services at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Please consult the ASBH ListServe policy before submitting a post, and note that your message may be held for up to 48 hours to avoid conflict with official ASBH announcements.

To access the Career Center, visit the Career Opportunities page on the ASBH website, and then click “Post jobs.” If you have never posted a job before, you will need to create an Employer account with our partner, Naylor. Your ASBH log-in credentials are not compatible with the Career Center; you will need to log into or create a Naylor account. To do so, click “Sign In” on the right side, next to “Help.” After you have logged into a Naylor account, you can click “Post Jobs” to create a new post or view options for managing existing posts and applications.

ASBH offers many opportunities for members to get involved in all facets of the Society. Members interested in serving are encouraged to read their emails from ASBH and respond to the opportunities that best suit their interests and availability. Calls for volunteers will also be posted to the new Service Opportunities page on the ASBH website.

Each opportunity has a unique set of preferred qualifications and necessary availability for volunteers. Some positions, such as Peer Reviewer and Executive Committee Member, require applicants to have had prior experience participating in ASBH programs or serving ASBH. Depending on the opportunity, volunteers may be selected by committee chairs, category leaders, or the ASBH President. Learn more about volunteer opportunities and their selection processes here.

Abstracts that contain identifying information will not be reviewed or accepted for the program. You are responsible for removing all identifying information, such as speakers’ names and institutions, from the abstract prior to submission. Please double-check your proposal before submitting to make sure your proposal does not have any identifying information.

You can see examples of accepted abstracts in the 2024 Annual Conference schedule. You can also find advice on writing your abstract on the ASBH website.

You are not able to submit an ASBH proposal to other conferences or journals prior to the proposal deadline, and ASBH may not consider a paper whose central, substantive content has already been published.

The Program Committee has provided a series of tips for writing an abstract, available here. Please note that you are not required to use these guidelines and their use does not guarantee an opportunity to present at the Annual Conference.

Special accommodations can be requested in the proposal submission form. Please contact ASBH’s Education and Operations Manager, Lauren Winters, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. regarding any further accommodations.

It is expected that all presenters must attend the Annual Conference in-person in order to present. Only submit proposals including presenters that will agree to register and pay to attend the conference in Portland.

Paper and flash presentations will have only one designated presenter. A co-author that chooses to attend the conference may offer brief remarks, but the designated presenter will be the only formal presenter recognized in conference materials and communications.

No, co-authors of paper and flash proposals are not required to attend the conference. If they do choose to attend, they will be required to register and pay for the conference registration.

Co-authors will be recognized by name in the conference schedule.

All proposals must be submitted by 5 PM CT, Monday, March 10, 2025. No proposals or changes will be accepted after that time. If you are having technical problems, call 847.375.4745 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. The ASBH office closes at 5 PM Central Time (6 PM ET/3 PM PT), and no live assistance will be available after that time. It is therefore advisable to submit your proposal several hours before the proposal deadline.

We are unable to offer any extensions, and thus we strongly recommend that all those submitting proposals do so well in advance of the deadline.

Unfortunately, we cannot offer any exceptions for those who did not submit their proposal in advance of the deadline. Be sure to hit both the “save” and “submit” buttons on the top right of your proposal page to enter your proposal into consideration. You will receive a confirmation email once your proposal has been submitted; please be sure to check the submission portal if you did not receive a confirmation email.

The 2025 Annual Conference will be held in-person at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland, OR.

The Board of Directors chooses conference locations using a number of determinants, including site price, room rates, available dates, additional costs and fees, and average flight costs from locations across the country.

All presentation rooms will be equipped with a laptop, projector, projection screen, podium microphone, tabletop microphone, lavalier microphone, and a slide advancer.

ASBH no longer offers a Speaker Ready Room and does not require speakers to visit any Ready Room prior to their presentation. If you have last-minute technological needs, we recommend the use of a personal device or the conference hotel’s business center.

Presenters are not required to submit slides in advance of their presentation date and instead are required to bring their slides on a thumb drive to their presentation session. Presenters will have the option to make their slides available in the conference app prior to the presentation if they so choose.

If you are interested in proposing an exhibition, installation, or other unique programming idea that will require additional resources to realize, ASBH may offer limited reimbursements to support these endeavors. All requests for additional resources or funding requests should be detailed in the submission to ASBH’s Call for Proposals. ASBH may not be able to grant all requests, and the requests will be considered on a case-by-case basis by the Program Committee and ASBH staff.

Registration rates are set by the Board of Directors each year during the budgeting process. The Board balances the need to cover conference expenses with the desire to keep registration rates accessible and comparable with similar interdisciplinary conferences. 

All speakers must register and pay for the conference in order to present. Speakers who have gone through the abstract submission process must register by a specific deadline in order to reserve a spot in the conference schedule. Visit the conference page for more information on registration deadlines.

ASBH offers discounted rates for students and members. If you decide not to become a member, you can still receive a $50-100 discount by registering before the early-bird deadline in September.

Abstracts are reviewed using a rigorous 3-stage process:

1. All submissions are reviewed anonymously by three ASBH members recruited for their expertise in the topic category selected. Each reviewer is asked to score the proposal on a 5-point scale considering contribution to existing knowledge; innovation, cutting-edge, and novelty; presentation of innovative solutions to current issues in the fields of bioethics and health humanities; cross-disciplinary approaches; and quality of the written proposal.
2. At the second stage of the process, one experienced reviewer for each category assesses all the individual and average scores throughout that category, taking into consideration factors such as significance, innovation, relevance, breadth of topic, and appropriateness for the meeting.
3. Finally, the Program Committee—with access to all the previous assessments—selects the strongest proposals that address topics of interest to a multidisciplinary community. The Committee then considers balance among the categories and subjects, and identifies unique or unusual topics. The Program Committee may unblind proposals in its final deliberations as it relates to the speakers’ experience with the topic, session formatting, diversity of speakers, speakers’ presentation history, and compliance with the two-presentation rule. If a speaker has a repeated history of late withdrawals from the conference schedule, the committee may factor this history into their final programming decisions. 

All proposal submitters will be notified in late June 2025.

ASBH’s Guest Speaker Policy allows for speakers outside the fields of bioethics and the health humanities to offer a unique point of view at the Annual Conference. Designated Guest Speakers may attend the session at which they are presenting without paying registration fees, with the understanding that they will attend only the session in which they are presenting. This designation is limited to nonmembers who otherwise would not attend the ASBH Annual Conference and who either (1) work in a governmental, industry, or comparable capacity not directly related to bioethics or the health humanities and would bring a unique point of view; or (2) represent patients and/or family members who have a connection to the topic being presented. To submit a request for the Guest Speaker designation, send an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with the desired guest’s name, email, and an explanation of their qualification for the designation.

Upon acceptance into the schedule, all presenters will be prompted to complete a COI disclosure form via the email listed on the proposal submission. All presenters and co-presenters must complete the form in order to be accepted into the final program schedule.

Co-authors will only be listed on paper or flash presentations; co-authors will not be recognized as presenters in the conference schedule and communications. Co-authors are not required to attend the conference.

Co-presenters may contribute to a preconference workshop, panel, workshop, debate, or performance/exhibition. Panels and debates are required to list at least one co-presenter on their proposal submission. Co-presenters are required to submit COI information, register for the conference and pay the appropriate registration fee, and attend the conference in person.  

You will need to press the blue “submit” button on the upper-right corner of your proposal page to submit. You will receive a confirmation email upon submission, and your proposal will then be marked “complete” on the submission portal. If you do not receive a confirmation email, please revisit the proposal submission portal prior to the deadline to confirm your proposal’s status or resend the confirmation email.

You can view a list of 2025 proposal requirements and more information about the various proposal formats here.

If you do not see a “Submit” button at the top of the page, you have not yet completed all of the tasks required to submit your proposal. Check that each task is complete by looking for a green checkmark, and finish any outstanding tasks in order to submit the proposal for review. Click “Save” once all of the tasks are complete, then click “Submit” to ensure your proposal is submitted for consideration.

Please reach out to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with any requested changes. We are unable to make any substantive proposal changes, including any changes to the abstract, title, learning objectives, category, or presentation format, after the submission deadline.

In 2017, ASBH decided to advance its mission by creating a functionally autonomous body, the Healthcare Ethics Consultant Certification Commission (“the Commission”), with responsibility for administering a certification program for healthcare ethics consultants. The purpose of the certification program is to promote excellence and professionalism within the field of health-care ethics consultation by documenting individual performance as measured against a predetermined level of knowledge and skill.

The Commission has autonomy in decision making for all essential certification policies and activities such as eligibility standards; standards for initial certification and maintaining certification; disciplinary determinations; the development, administration, and scoring of examinations; and the selection of subject-matter experts.

ASBH retains decision-making authority for non-essential certification decisions including those related to staff selection and office location; marketing and communication efforts; and final budget or contract approval as long as sufficient financial resources are provided for the certification program and  as long as policies and procedures are in place to provide for autonomy in essential certification decisions. These decisions shall be made in collaboration or consultation with the Commission.

To become an HEC-C, you must meet the qualifications outlined in the Candidate Handbook, pay the application fee, and pass the qualifying examination. Learn more about the process and download an application here.

In 2021, ASBH leadership formed a Task Force to draft the 3^rd edition of the Core Competencies. We had expected to publish the new edition in time for the 25th anniversary conference we held in Baltimore. Yet we did not want to sacrifice quality for speed. Per the suggestion of the Core Competencies 3^rd Ed. Task Force, ASBH leadership sought rigorous peer review on the draft submitted last fall. That peer review process did exactly what it was intended to do: it surfaced significant questions about the manuscript with which the ASBH Leadership had to wrestle. Ultimately, ASBH leadership decided that more work was needed before we could issue a final draft of the document.

Like many such standards documents, there are multiple authors for this publication. While ASBH Leadership remains ultimately accountable for the work, the authorship is much broader than the Board, and includes: (1) the Core Competencies 3^rd Edition Task Force; (2) a group of clinical ethics consultation experts to inform the rewriting of the publication; and (3) other experts who may make substantive contributions as the process continues.

ASBH solicited comments from the ASBH community through in-person listening sessions at the 2024 ASBH Annual Conference, a virtual listening session in Fall 2024, and a digital form. At this time, additional comments may not be considered prior to publication.

We hope to publish the 3^rd edition in the second half of 2025. If you would like to be notified when the 3^rd edition is released, please complete this brief form.