Study Guide for Medical Ethics Final

1.      This exam is cumulative.  You should review all the material from the first half of the class.  In particular, emphasize the ethical theories and the major concepts.  Please consult the first study guide.

 

2.      You will be expected to be able to give brief descriptions of the ethical theories we have studied.  The ethical theories are utilitarianism, Kantianism, moral relativism, the ethic of care, Nozick’s libertarian conservatism, and Rawls’ liberalism.

3.      In terms of the abortion debate, you should understand the strategies of argumentation employed by Marquis, Thompson and Warren in their articles.

4.      You should understand the standards for experimentation on human subjects put forward in the Nuremburg Code and the issues about the use of vulnerable populations.  You should know the issues relating to the AZT trials in Africa.

 

5.      You should understand the arguments that conservatives use against the right to health care and the arguments that liberals (both utilitarian and Rawlsian) use to support the right to health care.

 

6.      You should understand the debate about what kind of health care system is most compatible with the principles of justice.  In particular, know the arguments for our current market-based health care delivery system, a single-payer Canadian-style system, or a British style national health service

 

7.      Understand what a public health ethic is and why its advocates believe that it is crucial to our future.

8.      You should be prepared to do a case analysis. In preparing an analysis, you must define as many moral issues as you can, use the appropriate concepts to discuss the issues, and use the ethical theory of your choice to argue for your position.  Before using an ethical theory, it is a good idea to explain what it is.  For example, you might state the formulations of the categorical imperative if you are going to do a Kantian analysis.  One way to make your case analysis even stronger is to anticipate objections and answer them.  If  the case presented involves a debate that we have covered in class such as the debate about the appropriate role for the nurse, your case analysis should show that you are aware of that debate and that you can provide arguments for the side that you are taking in that debate.  I strongly advise you to spend some time thinking about the case before you begin writing and to also use an outline since you need to write a coherent essay.