Appendix 2 - Author

Education

Dr. Bulger has earned the rank of Full Professor at the Chicago Medical School and is a nationally Certified Healthcare Ethics Consultant (HEC-C). His educational background includes a PhD in Philosophy from the University of Tennessee with a concentration in Biomedical Ethics. Areas of study include Medical Ethics, Clinical Ethics, Policy Analysis, Human Rights, Social Political Philosophy, Health Care Education, and Online Pedagogical Course Development.

He also holds a Master of Arts degree in Religious Studies from Western Seminary in Portland, OR, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Petroleum Engineering from the University of North Dakota, Grand Forks.

Teaching

Professor Bulger has taught over 35 different philosophy courses face-to-face, blended, and online, including a range of lower-division and upper-division courses in Biomedical Ethics, Theoretical and Applied Ethics, Health Care Issues, Public Policy, Professionalism, and Medical Ethics Research. He has demonstrated his pedagogical commitment as evidenced by Institutional Learning Outcomes and with 50 of his mentored students having successfully completed and presented academically peered reviewed papers at the National Conference of Undergraduate Research (NCUR), documented exemplary Student Ratings of Instructor, and exceptionally high student satisfaction, success, and retention while holding to rigorous academic standards. In addition, Professor Bulger has years of clinical and teaching performance, computer and Learning Management System (LMS) skills, and knowledge of the latest pedagogical theories and assessment strategies. Dr. Bulger’s teaching expertise has been professionally and institutionally recognized with his induction into the Master Teacher Guild.

Service

Professor Bulger has served on clinical, educational, and research institutional governance committees, helping to coordinate and develop administrative policies which are in full compliance with the institutional mission and with federal, state, and institutional regulations and policies. He has actively served on hospital ethics committees, teaching and collaborating with interprofessional medical providers, staff, and administration to advance advisory decision-making processes and outcomes.

He has successfully provided leadership in clinical, teaching and institutional environments with patient assisted decision-making, curriculum development, department, division, institutional, and district committees. These activities have assured the full articulation of various course offerings, the improvement of instructional programs, and the planning, implementation, and teaching of special programs to support learning success as evidenced by the formulation of Learning Outcomes, their assessment cycles, and their results.

Research

Professor Bulger’s research and publications have ranged from writing biomedical ethics course textbooks, courses, online course deliveries, and various academic papers. Along with clinical ethics consultations, multidisciplinary educational programs, and interdisciplinary and interprofessional collaborations. His current clinical and organizational ethics research focuses on: 

What are the necessary and sufficient conditions and responsibilities for categorizing shared decision-making as valid informed consent, and how do those necessary and sufficient conditions and obligations differ for the patient, profession, and public policy?

Diversity

Professor Bulger is sensitive to the socio-economic, academic, cultural, LGBTQ+ and ethnic diversity within the educational, medical, clinical, and patient population and understands physical or learning disabilities and differences in learning styles.

Life-Long Learning

Professor Bulger is passionate about professional growth and development and strives towards exemplary teaching, scholarship, and service.

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