| Unit name | Ethical Judgments in Healthcare Law |
|---|---|
| Unit code | BRMS30021 |
| Credit points | 40 |
| Level of study | H/6 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
| Unit director | Dr. Birchley |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units) |
N/A |
| Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units) |
N/A |
| Units you may not take alongside this one |
N/A |
| School/department | Bristol Medical School |
| Faculty | Faculty of Health Sciences |
When should a patient’s or client’s confidentiality be honoured? What are the elements of a legally valid consent? What should it mean to treat a person or animal in their ‘best interests’? When may life-sustaining treatment be withdrawn? Should the law allow euthanasia – not only of animals, but also humans?
This unit explores these and related questions, which arise at the interface of healthcare practice(s), law, and ethics. After learning essential legal foundations, you will explore in-depth some landmark judgments in healthcare law. Healthcare law encompasses particular rules which apply to (e.g.) doctors, dentists, and vets, some of which adopt or express particular ethical positions. Throughout this unit, you will critically reflect on whether or to what extent legal rules and judgments are ethically sound.
The Healthcare Ethics and Law unit will equip you with knowledge and understanding of healthcare ethics and law. This unit runs in TB1, alongside the Introduction to Healthcare Ethics unit. Together, these units provide a grounding in healthcare ethics and healthcare law, e.g., by introducing you to key theories, approaches, and terminology, and enabling you to undertake independent research in these areas. You will build on these foundations in TB2, when you move to study the Contemporary Bioethics and Preparing for Publication in Healthcare Ethics and Law units.
Overview of content
You will study key aspects of healthcare law and reflect on the ethical dimensions thereof, through detailed study of landmark judgments (rulings). You will learn about and critically reflect on the foundations of law and healthcare law; topics and principles in healthcare law and the ethical dimensions of healthcare law.
You will focus on medical care/treatment, but also learn about aspects of the law governing dentists and veterinarians. Indicative topics and principles include: respect for autonomy; the ‘best interests’ of incapacitated persons and animals; confidentiality; negligence; consent to, refusal of, and withdrawal of, treatment; gross negligence manslaughter; assisted dying/euthanasia of humans and animals.
How this unit will change you
Over the course of the unit you will develop your knowledge of the foundations, topics, and principles of healthcare law. Your skills in independent research in healthcare law will improve, as will your skills in analysis. You will become more informed about healthcare ethics and law, and will approach the subject with a greater degree of self-reflection.
Learning outcomes
On successful completion of this unit, you should be able to:
For this unit, you will attend regular (e.g. twice a week) staff-led seminars in TB1. In addition to seminars, you will have seminar tasks to prepare in advance, based on the materials you will engage with for the relevant seminar (e.g., primary legal sources, academic sources, and online sources to read, podcasts or radio shows to listen to, TV or film clips to watch).
You will engage with diverse materials (e.g., written, audio, video) and participate in diverse activities (e.g., presentations, debates), which offer you different ways to learn and to demonstrate your learning, and enable you to develop your skills and knowledge. The seminar preparation and activities comprise formative tasks, on which you will receive feedback, and all of which are designed to help you succeed in your summative assessments. The main types of learning approaches are:
Reading, watching and listening: In addition to learning in seminars, you will have seminar tasks to prepare in advance, based on the materials that you will engage with for the relevant seminar (e.g., primary legal sources, academic sources, and online sources to read, podcasts or radio shows to listen to, TV or film clips to watch).
Presenting and debating: Discussion and debate will be encouraged in every seminar. Some seminar activities will involve you leading an oral presentation(s), either individually or in a group. Presentations may focus on a given topic or question, or involve you engaging in a debate, mock trial (‘moot’), problem-based scenario, or similar activity.
Tasks which help you learn and prepare for your summative tasks (formative):
The formative tasks are designed to enable you to develop your skills and knowledge, and receive feedback, in preparation for the subsequent summative assessments.
Formative tasks, on which you will receive oral and/or written feedback, include:
Seminar activities: Preparation of, and participation in, weekly seminar activities, including group discussions, with verbal feedback provided by staff. This will help you to acquire and demonstrate your knowledge of the key subject matter, which will help to ensure that you are prepared for the summative assessments.
Individual presentation(s): Each of you will individually research, prepare and deliver in class a 10-minute oral presentation, at least once during the unit, with verbal feedback provided by peers and staff. This will enable you to acquire and demonstrate your knowledge of the key subject matter, and to develop your skills in research, critical analysis, and oral presentation, in preparation for the summative assessments.
Group presentation(s): Each of you will collaborate with a group to research, prepare and deliver in class a 15-minute oral presentation, at least once during the unit, with verbal feedback provided by peers and staff. This will enable you to acquire and demonstrate your knowledge of the key subject matter, and to develop your skills in research, critical analysis and oral presentation, in preparation for the summative assessments.
Written assignment: A written assignment of 2,000 words, with written feedback provided by staff. This is submitted, and feedback returned, at approximately the mid-point of the unit. The formative written assignment is modelled on the written summative assessment. This will enable you to acquire and demonstrate your knowledge of the key subject matter, and to develop your skills in research, critical analysis, and in writing and formatting a written assignment, in preparation for the summative assessment.
Tasks which count towards your unit mark (summative):
You will be assessed via two summative tasks:
Individual presentation, 10 minutes: Each of you will individually research, prepare and deliver in class a 10-minute oral presentation, towards the end of the unit. This will form 30% of the summative assessment for the unit. There will be a choice of topics/questions from which you may select. This will be assessed by staff and you will receive feedback.
Written assignment, 4000 words: You will submit a written assignment at the end of the unit. This will form 70% of the summative assessment for the unit. There will be a choice of topics/questions from which you may select. These will typically include: essay questions (e.g., “Was the ruling in case X legally and ethically defensible?”); commentaries on judgements (critically reflecting on the legal and ethical defensibility of a particular judgment); and/or a problem question (critical reflection on the legal and ethical dimensions of a given case/scenario). This will be assessed by staff and the feedback will be helpful for students’ learning and assessment in TB2.
When assessment does not go to plan:
If you fail a summative assessment, you would not ordinarily be allowed to re-sit that assessment as all assessments sit in the final year of the programme.
If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.
If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. BRMS30021).
How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours
of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks,
independent learning and assessment activity.
See the University Workload statement relating to this unit for more information.
Assessment
The assessment methods listed in this unit specification are designed to enable students to demonstrate the named learning outcomes (LOs). Where a disability prevents a student from undertaking a specific method of assessment, schools will make reasonable adjustments to support a student to demonstrate the LO by an alternative method or with additional resources.
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit.
The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
