On 20-th of May at the opening ceremony of the 12-th International Conference on Clinical Ethics and Consultation the Hans-Joachim Schwager-Prize for Clinical Ethics for 2016 was presented to Prof. Silviya Aleksandrova-Yankulovska, Dean of the Faculty of Public Health at the Medical University of Pleven, Bulgaria.
The award carries the name of Professor Hans Joachim Schwager who was a pioneer in clinical ethics in Germany initiating ethics education for staff members and consultation rounds in early nineties in Bielefeld. The award aims at individuals or groups, who perform innovative or pioneer work in clinical ethics. As the implementation of a clinical ethics program often needs stamina and courage, the award is intended to encourage and support these initiatives.
The Board of Directors of the v. Bodelschwinghschen Stiftungen Bethel sponsor the Hans Joachim Schwager Award for Clinical Ethics and present the prize together with the International Conferences on Clinical Ethics and Consultation leadership. The Prize is presented to a scholar from Eastern Europe for first time which is a high recognition of Prof. Yankulovska’s work. She has been an active member of the European Clinical Ethics Network since its establishment closely studying European clinical ethics consultation practices and collaborating with all the leading European experts in the field.
The wining project is named “Application of adapted METAP methodology for clinical ethics consultation in Bulgaria” and took place in 6 clinical units in the country over the period May 2013 – December 2014. Applying the instruments of the methodology 69 ethics meetings with 286 participants were held altogether.
Professor Stella Reiter-Theil, President of 
the Jury, in her laudation of Prof. Silviya Yankulovska underlined: “The winning project does not only consist of the adaptation of concepts and tools to the Bulgarian situation. It also provides, after only a few years of practice, already rich data and cases from various clinical sites in Bulgaria illustrating the value of applying the METAP methodology to engage clinical staff in ethical case discussions. After this fulminant start it can be expected that clinical ethics support will continue to raise interest and obtain acceptance in the Bulgarian health care sector. We wish the winner and her wining project all the best for the future!”
