Medical Ethics Course

Lesson 1 • Moral Reasoning and Judgment

Develops structured methods for ethical deliberation under uncertainty. Students practise moving from moral intuition to justified clinical decisions.

Lesson 2 • History of Medical Ethics

Traces ethical thought from ancient oaths through medieval religious mandates to modern bioethics, showing how key historical milestones shaped today’s standards of patient care and professional duty.

Lesson 3 • The Four Principles Framework

Examines autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, and justice as clinical tools. Students use the framework to structure ethical analysis of real cases.

Lesson 1 • Refusal of Treatment

Addresses the ethical weight of patient refusals, including life-threatening ones. Students learn to respect refusals while ensuring they are informed and voluntary.

Lesson 2 • Waiver and Exceptions to Consent

Identifies ethically justified exceptions including emergencies and therapeutic privilege. Students apply narrow criteria to avoid misuse of consent waivers.

Lesson 3 • Consent in Vulnerable Populations

Examines consent challenges with minors, cognitively impaired, and incarcerated patients. Students adapt consent processes to protect autonomy without exploitation.

Lesson 4 • Decision-Making Capacity Assessment

Teaches clinical tools for evaluating a patient's capacity to consent. Students distinguish capacity from competence and apply assessment criteria consistently.

Lesson 1 • Digital Health and Data Privacy

Addresses privacy risks in electronic health records and health apps. Students evaluate data-sharing practices against ethical standards of patient protection.

Lesson 2 • Ethical Basis of Confidentiality

Grounds confidentiality in trust, autonomy, and therapeutic relationship integrity. Students articulate why confidentiality is foundational rather than merely procedural.

Lesson 3 • Limits and Justified Disclosures

Defines conditions under which disclosure is ethically permissible or required. Students apply proportionality and necessity tests to disclosure decisions.

Lesson 1 • Palliative Care and Symptom Management

Integrates palliative ethics with clinical goals of comfort and dignity. Students distinguish palliative sedation from euthanasia using the doctrine of double effect.

Lesson 2 • Defining Death and Brain Death

Clarifies biological and ethical definitions of death relevant to clinical decisions. Students apply death criteria to organ donation and treatment cessation scenarios.

Lesson 3 • Withdrawing and Withholding Treatment

Examines the ethical equivalence of withdrawing versus withholding life-sustaining care. Students apply proportionality and patient-centred reasoning to these decisions.

Lesson 4 • Assisted Dying and Euthanasia

Presents ethical arguments for and against physician-assisted death and euthanasia. Students construct and critique positions using multiple ethical frameworks.

Lesson 1 • Theories of Distributive Justice

Compares egalitarian, utilitarian, libertarian, and prioritarian justice frameworks. Students evaluate which theories best justify healthcare distribution policies.

Lesson 2 • Global Health and Resource Ethics

Addresses ethical obligations in global health resource distribution and aid. Students evaluate international equity claims and the ethics of medical volunteerism.

Lesson 3 • Rationing and Triage Ethics

Examines criteria for rationing scarce resources including ventilators and organs. Students apply triage protocols and critique their ethical assumptions.

Lesson 1 • Historical Abuses and Ethical Codes

Examines landmark research abuses and the codes they generated. Students trace how violations produced the Nuremberg Code, Declaration of Helsinki, and Belmont Report.

Lesson 2 • Institutional Review Boards

Explains IRB structure, function, and review categories for human subjects research. Students prepare submissions and identify when expedited or full review applies.

Lesson 3 • Informed Consent in Research

Distinguishes research consent from clinical consent in scope and obligation. Students draft consent documents meeting ethical standards for comprehension and voluntariness.

Lesson 4 • Risk-Benefit Analysis in Research

Teaches systematic evaluation of research risks against potential benefits. Students apply proportionality and minimise risk while preserving scientific validity.

Lesson 1 • Truth-Telling and Disclosure of Error

Examines the ethical duty to disclose diagnoses, prognoses, and medical errors. Students practise honest communication that preserves trust without causing unnecessary harm.

Lesson 2 • Medical Professionalism Defined

Articulates the social contract between medicine and society. Students identify core professional virtues and how they translate into daily clinical behaviour.

Lesson 3 • Conscientious Objection

Balances clinician moral integrity with the duty not to abandon patients. Students determine when objection is ethically permissible and what obligations remain.

Lesson 4 • Conflicts of Interest

Identifies financial, relational, and institutional conflicts that compromise clinical judgment. Students apply disclosure and management strategies to protect patient primacy.

Lesson 1 • Four-Box Clinical Ethics Method

Applies Jonsen's four-box method to organise clinical ethical analysis. Students use medical indications, patient preferences, quality of life, and context systematically.

Lesson 2 • Clinical Ethics Consultation

Explains the role, process, and outcomes of ethics consultation services. Students identify when to request consultation and how to participate constructively.

Lesson 3 • Ethical Conflict Resolution

Provides tools for resolving disagreements among patients, families, and care teams. Students facilitate structured dialogue that centres patient values and clinical facts.

Lesson 4 • Ethics in Interdisciplinary Teams

Examines how team dynamics affect ethical decision-making in clinical settings. Students identify role-specific ethical duties and foster shared moral accountability.