Module Information
Course Delivery
Delivery Type | Delivery length / details |
---|---|
Lecture | Two one hour lectures per week (part of 30hrs allocation) |
Lecture | One two hour lecture per week (part of 30hrs allocation) |
Seminars / Tutorials | 6 Hours. Three two hour seminars during the semester |
Assessment
Assessment Type | Assessment length / details | Proportion |
---|---|---|
Semester Exam | 2 Hours | 100% |
Supplementary Exam | 2 Hours resit exam | 100% |
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this module students should be able to:
Students are expected to have developed an appreciation of the issues both in terms of their relevance to abstract philosophical concerns, scientific developments and social policy, and to practical legal principles and practice.
Intellectual Skills
1. Analytical skills
2. Problem solving
3. Constructing argument
4. Synthesis (ethics, law and medicine)
5. Assessing and interpreting evidence and source material (interdisciplinary)
6. Organisation of ideas
7. Critical evaluation of complex and conflicting argument and evidence
8. Understanding relevance and irrelevance (especially with regard to making students aware that their gut reaction to issues is largely irrelevant).
Brief description
People are today living longer, often due to advancements in medical science, yet this increased life expectancy may not always be considered a blessing. Should a patient be allowed to choose to die? In what circumstances will the law protect the respective rights of a pregnant woman and her foetus? A number of recent cases have highlighted the extent to which the medical profession is confronted with such issues.
Medicine is an imprecise science and calls for a clinical judgement. To what extent should society penalise doctors for their mistakes? An over-punitive legal regime can lead doctors to exercise too much caution and can lead to defensive medicine. However, too lax a regime creates the impression that doctors are a law unto themselves. How should medicine be regulated?
Patients who are mentally incompetent will need particular care. They can neither agree to, nor refuse treatment. The court's power to intervene is ambiguous in the case of an adult and the next-of-kin can do no more than express an opinion. Case law declares that the doctor would not be acting unlawfully if she or he acts in their patients "best interests". Who should decide what is in their best interests? Has recent legislation improved the plight of those who lack capacity?
It is estimated that one in six couples is infertile. There are many forms of treatment for infertility, each one posing very difficult ethical questions. Do people have a right to a child? Who should be eligible for treatment? To what extent should we be able to determine the sex of a child or his or her genetic composition?
The module will give recognition to the split between self regulation by the medical profession and the potential need for external regulation whether by law or other means. The difficulties raised in attempting to reconcile the ethical dilemmas of medical practice with the prescriptive approach of the law will be highlighted.
Aims
Content
- Introduction to Ethics
- Medical Negligence
- Medical Records and Confidentiality
- Provision of Healthcare in the NHS
- Consent
- Abortion and neonates
- Euthanasia
- Assisted Conception
- Cloning
- Mental Health
Reading List
Recommended TextGillon Philosophical Medical Ethics Primo search Herring Medical Law and Ethics Primo search Mason & McCall Smith, Mennedy & Grubb Medical Law Primo search Montgomery Health Care Law Primo search Sheldon & Thomson Feminist Perspectives on Healthcare Law Primo search Stauch, Wheat & Tingle Sourcebook on Medical Law Primo search
Students will be advised of the latest edition of texts in the first lecture Primo search
Notes
This module is at CQFW Level 6