Department of Philosophy PHIL 386 A1 Healthcare Ethics
Fall 2021
Instructor: Jennifer Welchman Office: 2-69 Assiniboia Hall
Phone: (780) 492-3307 (voicemail box) E-mail: [email protected]
Office Hours
: Mondays 1-3 and by appointmentCourse Location, Days & Time: Remote: MWF 13:00-13:50
Course Description:
This course examines ethical problems that arise in health care. Topics include the moral and legal status of professional ethical codes, the purpose of informed consent, and the roles of substitute decision-making and evaluations of patients’ best interests in making treatment decisions. We will also consider special issues that arise in end-of-life decision-making and healthcare research, as well as issues of social justice that arise at the level of healthcare policy.
There are no prerequisites for this course.
Course Objectives and Expected Learning Outcomes
:At the end of this course students should be able to:
1. Define key concepts in health care ethics, including but not limited to, informed consent, paternalism, and privacy
2. Explain the core principles of health care ethics, such as respect for autonomy, beneficence, and justice
3. Use the concepts and principles of health care ethics to interpret typical issues in health care practice and policy
4. Identify the special moral responsibilities of health care professionals, such as the responsibility to provide appropriate care and the duty to maintain confidentiality
5. Recognize ethical issues in a case or a matter of policy and identify the information needed to deal with the issues
6. Examine and compare ethical arguments for a position in health practice or policy, and assess the strength of competing arguments
7. Recognize how discoveries in medical science and innovations in biomedical technology challenge
accepted health care practice and policy
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8. Collaboratively and individually, provide well-reasoned arguments for positions on typical issues in
health practice, research, or policy.
Course Format:
Most weeks, lectures on M&W will be “asynchronous” (recorded) and Friday’s we will have a live, “synchronous” class
& discussion. There may be occasional exceptions to this schedule, when we will meet live on a different day.
Required Textbook:
Fisher, Russell, Brown, Burkholder, eds., Biomedical Ethics, A Canadian Focus, 3
rdEd. (Oxford 2018) Additional Course Fees:
None
Important Dates:
First Day of Class: September 1
Add/Delete Period Ends: September (Students withdrawing after this date through October 2 will be assessed 50% fees for withdrawn courses) September 15
Last day for Withdrawal from Fall Term Courses: November 30
Last Day of Class: December 7
Final Exam Date: None
Date of Deferred Final Exam: None
Lecture Schedule & Assigned Readings:
Required Text: Lecture Schedule: A weekly breakdown of lecture topics, assigned readings, etc., can be found at the end of this document and on the eclass course website.
Components of Course Grade:
Component Weighting Date
Blog Postings 5
(with an option to submit a 6th to replace a posting with a grade below 50%)Postings will be on a public edublog. Your blog posts should respond to one of the readings for the week in which you are
40% overall (8% each)
Two by the end of Week 7, two during Weeks 8-14 (No more than one may be posted in any week)
Upload your post by 5pm Tuesday (Mountain Time)
3 posting. (So if you are posting on a reading
for week 3, post it by Tuesday of week 3.) You may critique the reading, test the author’s views by applying it to case of your own choosing (a real life case or a thought experiment), relate the author’s views to those of another author we have read, or write about an aspect of the reading that puzzles you, explaining why.
You will find the blog at
https://healthcarethics.edublogs.org/
Instructions and a rubric will be provided on the course website. Length 500-900 words (approx.) And remember, it’s a public blog. Polite, respectful language is required at all times.
Blog Comments 5
In your comments, you should respond to another student’s post, building upon it, disagreeing with it (respectfully), or re- thinking it within a week of the posting appearing. Length 200 words (approx.) A rubric will be provided on the course website
20% overall (4% each)
Two by the end of Week 7, two during Weeks 8-14, within a week of the appearance of the post on which you are
commenting.
(No more than one may be uploaded in any week)
Essay Papers (2)
You will write 2 essay papers, 6-10 pages.
Topics and formatting instructions will be
provided on the eclass course website.
20%
20%
Due 10/
Due 12/
No “scale” is used in assigning marks for this class. Percentages listed above are based on the University’s 4 point system which converted into letter grades as follows:
Letter
Pts Descriptor
A+ 4.0 Excellent
A 4.0 Excellent
A- 3.7 Excellent
B+ 3.3 Good
B 3.0 Good
B- 2.7 Good
C+ 2.3 Satisfactory
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Past Evaluative Material:
Not applicable
Attendance:
Regular attendance(actual or virtual)
is essential for optimal performance in any course.Policy for Late Assignments:
Essays handed in late without prior notice and the granting of an extension will be penalized by a 10 % grade reduction per day. Blog posts & comments not posted on time will receive 0 credit.
Missed Tests and Assignments:
Deferral of term work is a privilege and not a right; there is no guarantee that a deferral will be granted.
Misrepresentation of Facts to gain a deferral is a serious breach of the Code of Student Behaviour.
Student Responsibilities:
Academic Integrity: The University of Alberta is committed to the highest standards of academic integrity and honesty. Students are expected to be familiar with these standards regarding academic honesty and to uphold the policies of the University in this respect. Students are particularly urged to familiarize themselves with the provisions of the Code of Student Behaviour and avoid any behaviour that could potentially result in suspicions of cheating, plagiarism, misrepresentation of facts and/or participation in an offence. Academic dishonesty is a serious offence and can result in suspension or expulsion from the University.
All students should consult the Academic Integrity website. If you have any questions, ask your instructor.
An instructor or coordinator who is convinced that a student has handed in work that he or she could not possibly reproduce without outside assistance is obliged, out of consideration of fairness to other students, to report the case to the Associate Dean of the Faculty. See the Academic Discipline Process.
Recording of Lectures:Audio or video recording, digital or otherwise, of lectures, labs, seminars or any other teaching environment by students is allowed only with the prior written consent of the instructor or as a part of an approved accommodation plan. Student or instructor content, digital or otherwise, created and/or used within the context of the course is to be used solely for personal study, and is not to be used or distributed for any other purpose without prior written consent from the content author(s).
Disclaimer: Any typographical errors in this syllabus are subject to change and will be announced in class and posted on eClass. The date of the final examination is set by the Registrar and takes precedence over the final examination date reported in this syllabus.
C 2.0 Satisfactory
C- 1.7 Satisfactory
D+ 1.3 Poor
D 1.0 Minimal Pass
F 0.0 Fail
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Student Resources:
The best all-purpose website for student services is: https://www.ualberta.ca/current-students.
Accessibility Resources: (1 – 80 SUB)
The University of Alberta is committed to creating work and learning communities that inspire and enable all people to reach their full potential. Accessibility Resources promotes an accessible, inclusive, and universally designed environment. For general information and to register for services visit the Accessibility Resources webpage.
The Academic Success Centre: (1-80 SUB)
The Academic Success Centre offers a variety of workshops on effective study and exam strategies. There are in-person and online sessions available for a modest fee.
The Centre for Writers: (1-42 Assiniboia Hall)
The Centre for Writers offers free one-on-one writing support to students, faculty, and staff. Students can request consultation for a writing project at any stage of development. Instructors can request class visits and presentations.
Health and Wellness Support: There are many health and community services available to current students.
For more information visit the Health and Wellness Support webpage.
Office of the Student Ombuds:
The Office of the Student Ombuds offers confidential interviews, advice and support to students facing academic, discipline, interpersonal and financial difficulties.
Learning and working environment:
The Faculty of Arts is committed to ensuring that all students, faculty and staff are able to work and study in an environment that is safe and free from discrimination and harassment. It does not tolerate behaviour that undermines that environment.
It is the policy of the University of Alberta that sexual violence committed by any member of the University community is prohibited and constitutes misconduct. Resources and more information can be found at https://www.ualberta.ca/campus-life/sexual-violence
The University of Alberta acknowledges that we are located on Treaty 6 territory, and respects the histories, languages, and cultures of the First Nations, Métis, Inuit, and all First Peoples of Canada, whose presence continues to enrich our vibrant community.
Policy about course outlines can be found in the Evaluation Procedures and Grading System section of the University Calendar.
Copyright: Professor Jennifer Welchman, Faculty of Arts, University of Alberta (2020)
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Week Dates Topics & Readings
(All required readings are in Biomedical Ethics unless otherwise indicated.
Readings followed by [E] are posted in the eclass course website)
1
9/19/3
Course Introduction
Introducing Ethical Theories Singer (Utiliarianism) [E]
2
9/6 9/8- 10 Labour DayIntroducing Ethical Theories
Kant (Deontological Ethics of Respect) [E]
Shafer-Landau (Contractarianism) [E]
Hawking: Virtue Ethics [E]
3
9/13-15-17Last day of Add/Drop: 9/15 Blogging starts
Professions & the Professional-Client Relationship Bayles
[E]
, Faber[E]
, Beyerstein (§4) Review cases by Dyer and Jonas [Visit https://healthcarethics.edublogs.org/]
4
9/20-22-24 Autonomy, Informed Consent & the Professional-Client Relationship Faden & Beauchamp (§2), Meisel & Kuczewski[E]
, Brody (§2), Lasser & Gottlieb[E]
Review Case #2 (§3.5), Case #3 (§5.5), Mr. Gupta [E]
5
9/27-29 & 10/1 Beneficence, Deception & the Professional-Client Relationship Thomasma (§3.2),
Stewart (§3.2), Foddy [E] Case study [E]
6
10/4-6-8 Nonmaleficence, Confidentiality & the Professional-Client Relationship Kipnis (§3.3), Unger (§3.3), Kaplan (§3.3), Review Case #3 (§3.5) & “Scenario 2” [E]
7
10/11 Thanksgiving 10/13-15[Complete at least 2 postings & 2 comments by this week]
Justice, Duties to Provide Care & the Professional-Client Relationship Ruderman, Cox, B.C Covid -19 Task Force [E]
[Recommended: Canadian Medical Association (§4.2)]
Review: Case 2 (§4.3), Case 1 (§8.6), and Bella [E]
8
10/18-20-22First paper due 10/22
Surrogate Decision-making
Canadian Medical Association (§2.4), Fagerlin & Schneider (§2.4), Surrogate Decision-making [E], Alberta Personal Directives policy[E]
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9
10/25-27-29 Settling DisputesPellegrino (§ 4.2), Truog (§4.2)
Review Case #1 (§ 4.3) & cases described by Iati and Shapiro [E]
10
11/1-3-5 Healthcare Policy: EuthanasiaRachels (§6.2), Brock (§6.2), Callahan (§6.2)
Review Cases 1-5 (§6.5)
11
11/ 8-12Fall Reading Week
12
11/15-17-19 Exception to meeting schedule possible:TBA
Healthcare Policy: MAID -- How far should we go?
Payton, Controlling the risks of PAD (§6.3); Department of Justice on the Legislative Background (§6.3); and pages 332-334 on Advance Directives and MAID (§6.3) and Boer et al [E]
Review the case discussed in Housel [E]
13
11/22 11/24 11/26Healthcare Policy: Death and Organ Donation
Veatch [E], Kishore (§7.5), Glannon (§8.2) Review Case 2 (§7.6) and Israel's "Points Priority" system (described in Lavee et al. [E])
14
11/29 12/1 12/3Healthcare Policy: Mandatory Vaccines for Healthcare Workers?
Royal College of Nursing [UK] Policy Statement [E], Schuklenk & Smalling (§4), BMJ editorial [E], Bradfield & Giubilini [E],
Review Case 1 (§8.6)
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12/6 12/14: Final Papers dueCourse conclusion
Final paper consultations: synchronous session this Monday for last minute questions re: final papers