Medical Ethics
PHL 180….W 6:30-9:20….No Prerequisites….3
Credits
Fall, 2005
Dr. Hollace Graff
This course is designed to
investigate moral problems in medicine and health care delivery from a
philosophical point of view. It is designed to be of value to both health care
professionals and humanities students. Issues such as the rights of patients,
euthanasia, genetic counseling and engineering, experimentation on human
subjects, the right to health care, and the responsibilities of health care
professionals are covered.
A. Students will develop an understanding of at least four fundamentally different ethical theories and the problems that these theories address.
B. Students will develop their critical thinking skills. They will examine criticisms of all the ethical theories they study and will debate the alternative solutions offered by these theories to enduring moral questions.
C. Students will learn to apply ethical theories to moral issues in health care. They will examine these issues on the personal level, the national level, and the global level. The extensive use of case studies will facilitate this work.
D. Students will begin discussing how different cultures view moral issues in health care.
E.
Students will adopt positions on contemporary issues in health
care and use the ethical theory with which they agree to defend their positions.
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.
Biomedical Ethics
edited by Thomas Mappes and David DeGrazia
Materials from the web will be available via my website (http://www.oakton.edu/~hgraff/).
Outline of Topics and Tentative Schedule
(This schedule will be supplemented as the semester
proceeds.)
August 24…..Introduction to Health Care Ethics……Utilitarianism
Dax's
Case
August
31…..Kantianism…..Autonomy v. Paternalism....The Role of the Physician…pp. 1-25,
71-72,
76-89, 90-101 in Biomedical Ethics....Journal:
Take a position on the debate about patient autonomy
Stanford Encyclopedia
article on Kant's Moral Philosophy
September
7..…Moral relativism…..Informed Consent
and Social Realities.....pp. pp. 38-39, 102-158........Class presentation on
articles......Journal: Discuss how you stand on moral relativism and how this
relates to your view on patient autonomy.
Instructor's Notes on Cultural and Moral Relativism
September 14….Finish last week's material
September 21…..The Ethic of Care......Nursing ethics....pp.
170-191....Journal assignment: Defend your view on the appropriate role
for nurses.
ANA Ethics
Website
September 28….. Death and Decisions on Life-Sustaining Treatment......Nancy Cruzan case...Journal Assignment: Defend your view on the Cruzan case. Be sure you use a philosophical theory in your analysis.
October 5……. Assisted Suicide and Voluntary Active Euthanasia.......Journal Assignment: Discuss whether you would sign Cantor's living will and how you would change it......Review for mid-term Midterm Study Guide
October 12….. Mid-term exam…..Projects Introduced
October 13 (Thursday), 7-9 PM, Room 1610 DP......Forum on "Fixing Our Health Care System" featuring Dr. Quentin Young, National Coordinator of Physicians for a National Health Program....Journal assignment: Write your comments on this forum.
October 19….. Abortion and Material-Fetal Conflicts, pp. 457-478, pp. 553-564.....Journal assignment: Take on a position on surrogate motherhood showing that you have read the assigned articles.
October 26….. Ethics of Research, pp. 234-239, pp. 266-275...Journal Assignment: Argue for your position on AZT trials in Africa.
November 2…… Social Justice and Health Care, pp. 615-644
November 9….. Social Justice and Health Care, pp. 645-693
November 16….. Wal-Mart: the High Cost of Low Prices in the 1600 rooms.....Journal: Explain your position on whether there is a right to health care and how far that right to health care goes. Also, explain what changes in the current health care delivery system you would advocate. Be sure that you use your theory of justice to argue for your conclusions.
November 23….Global Crises in Healthcare...."Public Health as Social Justice" by Dan Beauchamp....Journal: Discuss how your views on bioethics have changed over the semester. You may also choose to write about your presentation or your response to the other presentations.
November 30…..Class Presentations on Baby Fae and Joyce Brown
December
7……Class Presentations on stem cell research and health care and natural
catastrophe…..Journals due
American Journal
of Bioethics - "In the Wake of Katrina: Has Bioethics Failed?"
American Journal of Bioethics - New issue
focusing on stem cell research
December
14…..Final
Study Guide for the Final Exam
A. Lectures and discussion
B. Small group work
C. Films
D.
Student presentations and debates
A.
There will be a mid-term and a final. These will be essay exams,
and a study guide will be provided before each of these exams. If you miss the
mid-term due to illness or a family emergency, I will make arrangements for you
to take this exam in the Testing Center.
B.
You will keep a course journal. In this journal you will record
your reactions to the assigned readings and cases and your responses to
questions that I pose in class. The journal should not consist of notes or
summaries of the readings. Rather, you should take positions and offer arguments
for those positions. You may also consider ways in which the material we read in
class relates to your own experiences. Your journal will be collected three
times during the semester. I will write comments, and I will give you tentative
grades. However, the final grade for your journal as a whole will be assigned
at the end of the semester. Your final journal should be at least 15
typewritten pages. In the interest of preserving trees, your journal should not
be more than double-spaced, should not use larger than 12-point type, and should
not have extra-large margins or large blank spaces between sections.
C.
Participation is very important in this class. You may earn
participation points by attending class and by volunteering to give brief
presentations on cases. (If you are late or must leave early, you will receive
half credit for the day.) I will also ask you to
attend at least one outside event that we will discuss later. I
will offer some extra credit opportunities to
make up for absences. These opportunities will involve attendance at events
relevant to the class such as public forums or plays. I do not distinguish
between excused and unexcused absences. However, if you need to be absent
because of something such as religious holidays or family emergency, I will make
every effort to insure that you have ways to earn extra credit. (19-20….A,
17-18…B, 15-16…C, 13-14….D)
D.
You will participate in a final project that involves a group
presentation on a complex case or social policy. This project will be explained
in detail in several weeks.
E.
In unusual circumstances such as prolonged hospitalization or
compulsory military service, I will make arrangements so that students can
fulfill course requirements in other ways.
A. Quizzes/Exams……30%
B. Journals/Essays……30%
C. Final Project……….20%
D.
Participation………..20%
A. Disabilities
If you have a documented learning, psychological, or physical disability you may be entitled to reasonable academic accommodations or services. To request accommodations or services, contact the ASSIST office in the Learning Center. All students are expected to fulfill essential course requirements. The College will not waive any essential skill or requirement of a course or degree program.
B. Discrimination
The Oakton Community College Catalog states:
Oakton Community College does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, national origin, disability, age, sex, sexual orientation, or marital status in admission to and participation in its educational programs, activities and services, or employment practices. The College does not tolerate sexual harassment or sexual assault by or of its students or employees.
In keeping with this policy of tolerance and
non-discrimination, in this class all of us (myself included) should strive to
listen and give careful consideration to all ideas expressed in class,
especially those that are different from our own, without attacking or demeaning
the people who have those views. We should also strive to avoid using insulting
terms or telling offensive jokes when talking to or about individuals or groups.
Instructor information
Des Plaines Office……3614 Des Plaines Telephone……847-376-7033
E-Mail……hgraff@oakton.edu
Website…..http://www.oakton.edu/~hgraff/
My office hours are as follows: Mondays……9:00-10:45
Tuesdays……1:30-3:00
Wednesdays……5:30-6:20
Thursdays……1:30-3:00
Fridays…..2:00-4:30
Please feel welcome to stop by
and chat, and be sure to see me if you are having difficulties in the course. If
you cannot make any of these times, please see me for an appointment. Actually,
since my duties as chair of the department sometimes overwhelm my office hours,
it is always good to make an appointment so that you will have first priority.
In the interest of trying to create a non-authoritarian atmosphere in our
classroom, I would prefer that you address me by my first name which is Holly.
Recommended Websites
Author:
Hollace
Graff
Oakton Community College
Updated: August 22, 2005