HCA 301: Contemporary Ethical Issues in HCA

Moral Forms of Thoughtfulness Exercise (Week 1)

10%

Case Postings and Discussions - 6 cases (Weeks 2 - 7)

60%

Research Paper (Week 8)

20%

News Article Posting and Discussion (Week 8)

10%

Total

100%

Week

Learning Unit

SLOs

Readings and Exercises

Assignments

1 & 2

1

1-6

Topic: Moral Forms of Thoughtfulness

• This unit introduces forms of moral thoughtfulness, ethical theory, the relationship between law, morality, and professional ethics, and components of ethical analysis.

• Outcomes:
• Identify forms of moral thoughtfulness being used by decision makers in various scenarios.
• Distinguish different ethical theories and how they are relevant to ethical cases.
• Identify competing obligations, values or consequences in ethical dilemmas.

• Readings:
  • Chapter 9 in Principles of Biomedical Ethics
  • “Moral Forms of Thoughtfulness,” by Michael Hartwig (Located in Course Documents)

• Read assigned material
• Participate in Discussions - Introduce yourself to class and identify a healthcare ethical problem you hope to resolve. (Due by Thursday 11:59 pm EST - Week 1)
• Complete Moral Forms of Thoughtfulness Exercise (Due by Sunday 11:59 pm EST - Week 1)
• Complete Case Study Exercise - Ethical Case with Patient Dan
• Individual Response (Due by Thursday 11:59 pm EST - Week 2)
• Respond to two classmates (Due by Sunday 11:59 pm EST - Week 2)

3

2

1-6

Topic: Professional Obligations

• This unit explores the professional codes of conduct of healthcare professionals and their relationship to patient rights.

• Outcomes:
• Identify professional codes of conduct.
• Correlate these codes to broad ethical principles such as respect for autonomy, beneficence and justice.
• Underscore tensions in the codes of ethics and approaches for balancing or navigating those tensions.

• Readings:
• Chapter 8 in Principles of Biomedical Ethics

• Read the following codes of ethics:

  Nuremberg Code of Ethics:

• American Medical Association Code of Ethics

• American Nursing Association Code of Ethcs

• American Medical Association: www.ama-assn.org
• American Nurses Association: www.nursingworld.org
• American Hospital Association: http://www.aha.org/aha/issues/Communicating-With-Patients/pt-care-partnership.html

• Read assigned material
• Complete Case Study Exercise - Ethical Case with Patient Sarah
• Individual Response (Due by Thursday 11:59 pm EST - Week 3)
• Respond to two classmates (Due by Sunday 11:59 pm EST - Week 3)

4

3

1-6

Topic: End of Life Decisions

• This unit explores issues surrounding end-of-life decisions and distinctions regarding euthanasia (active, passive, voluntary, involuntary).

• Outcomes:
• Be able to distinguish between active, passive, voluntary and involuntary euthanasia;
• Be able to articulate the moral arguments for and against active/passive euthanasia.
• Use moral forms of thoughtfulness to explore end-of-life choices.
• Show appreciation for conversations that should take place either in an advance directive setting or with patient during critical choices at end-of-life.

• Readings:
• Chapter 5 in Principles of Biomedical Ethics
• Review "Conversation Project"

• “Lecture” (by professor)

• Read assigned material
• Complete Case Study Exercise - Ethical Case with Patient Margaret
• Individual Response (Due by Thursday 11:59 pm EST - Week 4)
• Respond to two classmates (Due by Sunday 11:59 pm EST - Week 4)

5

4

1-6

Topic: Reproductive Technologies

• This unit explores questions about contemporary reproductive technologies, including questions about abortion.

• Outcomes:
• Be able to identify different types of reproductive technologies and the ethical questions associated with them.
• Be able to articulate the history of philosophical and religious arguments about the moral ontological status of embryos and fetuses.
• Be able to explore and discuss contemporary implications of reproductive technologies such as artificial insemination, in-vitro fertilization, surrogacy and other procedures.

• Readings:
  • Chapter 3 in Principles of Biomedical Ethics

  • “Lecture” (by professor)

• Read assigned material
• Complete Case Study Exercise - Ethical Case with Patients Sally and Francesca
• Individual Response (Due by Thursday 11:59 pm EST - Week 5)
• Respond to two classmates (Due by Sunday 11:59 pm EST - Week 5)
• Submit Research Paper Proposal (Due by Sunday 11:59 pm EST - Week 5)

6

5

1-6

Topic: Research Ethics

• This unit will focus on the ethical principles of research using human subjects. Focus will be given to applying these principles to pharmaceutical and stem cell research.

• Outcomes:
• Outline main obligations of researchers to human subjects
• Identify situations where the rights of human subjects are at risk
• Describe competing obligations or values of physicians who participate in research protocols

• Readings:
• Chapter 6 in Principles of Biomedical Ethics
• Chapter 7 in Principles of Biomedical Ethics
• Chapter 8 in Principles of Biomedical Ethics
• Add review Nuremberg Code of Ethics

• “Lecture” (by professor)

• Read assigned material
• Complete Case Study Exercise - Ethical Case with Dr. Roberts
• Individual Response (Due by Thursday 11:59 pm EST - Week 6)
• Respond to two classmates (Due by Sunday 11:59 pm EST - Week 6)

7

6

1-6

Topic: Justice and Health Care

• This unit will introduce theories and principles of justice and how they bear upon the distribution of and access to healthcare resources. Discussion will focus on the right to healthcare and the managed care system.

• Outcomes:
• Distinguish different theories of justice as they are argued in ethical situations
• Outline differences between legal rights, human rights, positive rights, and negative rights
• Identify competing values that are operative in the current U.S. healthcare systems

• Readings:
• Review Chapter 7 in Principles of Biomedical Ethics

• “Lecture” (by professor)

• Read assigned material
• Complete Case Study Exercise - Ethical Case with Patient Madge
• Individual Response (Due by Thursday 11:59 pm EST - Week 7)
• Respond to two classmates (Due by Sunday 11:59 pm EST - Week 7)

8

7

1-6

Topic: Student Research and Synthesis

• This unit allows students to synthesize course learning around a select contemporary healthcare topic.

• Outcomes:
• Identify a contemporary healthcare dilemma, problem or issue.
• Identify key contributions of experts to address this issue.
• Identify how moral forms of thoughtfulness illuminate the issue from different perspectives.
• Draw personal conclusions about how best to resolve the question/issue.

• Submit Research Paper - 8-10 paper on a topic of student choice that centers on a contemporary healthcare issue/problem. (Due by Monday 11:59 pm EST - Week 8)

• Identify an article online (perhaps in national newspapers or national news sites) that highlights the importance and relevance of ethics and health care.  Post a link to the article in the discussion board designated for this, explain why you think this is an important article highlighting our course work, and respond to two of your classmates’ postings of their articles.  Due by Thursday of week 8. 

• Complete Course Evaluation