Course Description
Should you be able to choose the gender of your baby? Should risky behaviours reduce your fair share of health care resources? Should researchers in developed countries conduct research with populations in developing countries? What are the ethical obligations of biomedical scientists? Is euthanasia morally permissible? These are some of the fascinating ethical questions this course will equip students to answer. Students explore ethical issues at the individual and global levels and learn to analyse and resolve them using major ethical theories and principles. Throughout the course students come to appreciate that a tension sometimes exists between saving lives and respecting rights.
Learning Outcomes
- Analyse ethical problems in health care practice and policy.
- Explain relevant ethical theories and concepts.
- Synthesise relevant information and ideas.
- Critique arguments using evidence and theory.
- Defend a proposed course of action.
Learning Experience
Topics
- What is Ethics and How Do We Do It?
- Policy Review Due
- The Context of Health Care: Practice, Professionalism, and Integrity
- Respect for Autonomy
- Ethical Issues at the Beginning of Life
- Ethical Issues at the End of Life
- Ethics and Biomedical Research
- Genetics as a Challenge to Individualistic Ethics
- Ethics of Resource Allocation
- Global Justice and Vulnerability
- Big Pharma and Ownership of Knowledge
- Ethics and Infectious Diseases
Development Team
Andrew Gardner
Course Author
Camille Schubert
Course Author
Brianna Morello
Course Author
Danielle LeMieux
Learning Designer
Lead
Assessments
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Policy review
Review
This assignment assesses learners ability to identify and discuss ethical underpinnings of a policy and how core principles of health ethics have informed and shaped the policy.
15%
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Critical incident review
Review
Learners critically analyse a health care incident or challenge, the impact of policy, relevant ethical theories and principles, professional frameworks, and to provide clear recommendations with appropriate rationale.
30%
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Essay plan
Essay
This assessment provides learners with formative feedback on the argument, structure, and overall layout of their essay, and provides feedback to improve the overall quality of the final essay.
15%
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Essay
Essay
Learners are assessed on their ability to identify and apply relevant ethical theories and frameworks to a research question in health, write a coherent argument that reaches a clear conclusion regarding a proposed course of action, and substantiate their argument with relevant academic literature.
40%