Contemporary Issues in Bioethics

Course Number: CHL3001H
Series: 3000 (Bioethics)

Course Description

CHL3001H introduces students to the core domains of bioethics practice (clinical ethics, research ethics, organizational ethics, public health ethics, global health ethics, health system and policy ethics). The course employs a case method approach to explore contemporary bioethics issues within and across these domains, to identify and characterize the ethical salient features of these issues, to apply ethics concepts, theories, and approaches to analyze and identify options for action, to explore the contribution of interdisciplinary approaches to resolving bioethics issues, and to develop skills in collaboration, systems thinking, critical reflection, and communication about complex bioethics issues in practice.

Course Objectives

By the end of the course, students will be able to:

Identify central issues, questions, and considerations in clinical ethics, public health ethics, research ethics, and health system and policy ethics.
Use and critically appraise relevant interdisciplinary literature to describe and analyze ethical issues in clinical care, health research, public health practice, and health policy locally and globally
Construct well-reasoned positions and compelling arguments informed by the analysis of empirical and normative scholarship in bioethics
Apply ethical concepts, principles, and theories and ethical reasoning to analyze ethical problems and identify potential solutions
Work collaboratively and constructively with others to identify, assess and address ethical issues, questions, and problems in professional settings
Communicate effectively about bioethics issues to a lay audience

Methods of Assessment

Question of the Session	20%
Group Project	45%
Commentary: Lessons Learned	35%