Medical Ethics PHL 180…..Thursdays, 12:30-3:20.…3 Credits…..No Prerequisites…..Spring, 2000
Dr. Hollace Graff
Course Description
Medical ethics is a course designed to investigate moral problems in medicine and health care delivery from a philosophical point of view. It is designed also to be of value to students in both health care and the humanities. Issue concerning the rights of patients, abortion, euthanasia, genetic counseling and engineering, experimentation on human subjects, and the right to health care will be discussed.
This course is designed to familiarize students with the history and development of science and medicine and to develop in students the ability to think critically about the issues stated above. The course also presents a number of ethical theories which can be used to analyze both general issues and particular cases.
Learning Objectives
A. The student will be expected to be familiar with various ethical theories.
B. The student will be expected to apply the principles of these ethical theories to moral dilemmas.
C. The student will be expected to understand the major areas of ethical controversy within contemporary American health care in general and the Chicago area in particular.
D. Students will be expected to be able to present and argue for their own positions on these issues.
Academic Integrity
The very nature of higher education requires that students adhere to accepted standards of academic integrity. Therefore, Oakton Community College has adopted a Code of Academic Conduct and a statement of Student Academic Integrity. These may be found in the Student Handbook. You may also find a summary of the Code of Academic Conduct in the College Catalog. Among the violations of academic integrity listed and defined are: cheating, plagiarism, falsification and fabrication, abuse of academic materials, complicity in academic dishonesty, falsification of records and official documents, personal misrepresentation and proxy, and bribes, favors, and threats.It is the student’s responsibility to be aware of behaviors that constitute academic dishonesty.
Pursuant to the due process guarantees contained in the Policy and Procedures on Student Academic Integrity, the minimum punishment for the first offense for a student found in violation of the standards of academic integrity is failure in the assignment. In addition, a disciplinary record will be established and kept on file in the office of the Vice President for Student Affairs for a period of three years.
Instructional Materials
The texts for this course will be Ethical Issues in Modern Medicine edited by Arras and Steinbock and Mama Might Be Better Off Dead by Laurie Abraham. Exact reading assignments will be made in class and will be somewhat dependent upon the particular interests of the class. It is important to keep up with the reading in order to participate effectively in discussion.
Links to Bioethics Resources
DoctorNET Online Medical Ethics Links
20th WCP: Bioethics and Medical Ethics
Midwest Bioethics Center Table of Content
Bulletin of Medical Ethics - Homepage
The Doctor's Dilemma, Essentials of Medical Ethics
Outline of Topics and Tentative Schedule
January 20, 27…..Introduction, Ethical Theories, Autonomy and Paternalism…..Reading assignment: Ethical Issues in Modern Medicine pp. 1-16, pp. 55-66, pp. 85-99, pp. 187-194
February 3, 10…..Selections from Part Two: Defining Death, Forgoing Life-Sustaining Treatment, and Euthanasia
February 17….Selections from Part Three: Contraception, Abortion, and Prenatal Diagnosis
February 24…..Selections from Part Four: Assisted Reproductive Technologies and Genetics
March 2…..Selections from Part Five: Experimentation on Human Subjects
March 9…..Theories of Social Justice.....Review for midterm
March 16…..Spring Break
March 23.....Midterm exam.....Small group meetings
March 30, April 6, 20…..Abraham, Mama Might Be Better Off Dead…..Understanding the structure of the health care delivery system.....Selections from Part Six: Allocation, Social Justice, and Health Policy
April 27, May 4….. Chambliss, Beyond Caring
May 4, 11…..Presentations
Methods of Instruction
There will be both lecture and discussion during most classes. During many classes we will spend some time viewing films. At the end of the semester students will make presentations on ethical issues or cases that we have not discussed in class.
Course Requirements and Methods of Evaluation
1. There will be a mid-term exam which will count for one-sixth of your final grade. About half of this exam will consist of matches and short-answer questions, and the other half of this exam will be a case analysis.
2. There will be a final exam which is cumulative. It will be worth one-sixth of your final grade. This will be a take-home essay exam which you will have one week to complete.
3. You will keep a philosophical journal that will be worth one -third of your final grade. In this journal you will record your reactions to the assigned readings and your responses to questions that I pose in class. The journal should not consist of notes or summaries of the readings. I will collect your journal once during the semester to see how you are doing. Your final journal should be at least 20 type-written pages. The journal must be handed in for the last time on April 29.
4. One-sixth of your grade will be based on class participation. You will receive one participation point for every class you attend. You will also receive a participation point for volunteering to give brief oral summaries of assigned readings to the class. I will also give up to 3 extra participation points for consistently good contributions to class discussion. 20 and above…..A, 18-19….B, 15-17….C, 13-14…..D
5. All students will develop class presentation on an ethical debate which we have not covered in class. You may work in groups on a presentation. We will spend time in class discussing how to complete this project. This project will count for the last one-sixth of your grade.
My office is 2807, and my office telephone number is 635-1919. Please feel free to stop by to discuss any of the course material with me, and be sure to see me if you are having any difficulties.
Spring 2000
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | |
| 7:30 | Sometimes in my office | Sometimes in my office | Sometimes in my office | Office Hours |
Sometimes in my office |
| 8:00 | Office Hours, Room 2807 |
Office Hours
Room 2807 |
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| 8:30 | |||||
| 9:00 | Office Hours, Room 2807 | ||||
| 9:30 | Social Science 201 (Part of a tandem
with ethics) Room 3619 |
Social Science 201 (Part of a tandem
with ethics) Room 3619 |
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| 10:00 | Office Hours 2807 |
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| 10:30 | |||||
| 11:00 | Logic, Room 2440 |
Ethics (Part of a tandem with social
science), Room 3619 |
Logic, Room 2440 |
Ethics (Part of a tandem with social
science), Room 3619 |
Logic, Room 2440 |
| 11:30 | |||||
| 12:00 | Honors Ethics, Room 2735 |
Honors Ethics, Room 2735 |
Sometimes in my office | ||
| 12:30 | Sometimes in my office | Medical Ethics Room 2462 |
Faculty Seminar | ||
| 1:00 | |||||
| 1:30 | Sometimes in my office | Sometimes in my office |
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| 2:00 | Faculty Meetings | Faculty Seminar on Ethics in Higher
Education Room 2721 |
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| 2:30 | |||||
| 3:00 | Sometimes in my office | ||||
| 3:30 | Sometimes in my office | Office Hours, Room 2807 | |||
| 4:00 | Sometimes in my office | ||||
| 4:30 |
Author: Hollace
Graff,
Oakton Community College
Last Updated: March 10, 2000