CHB4203

Ethical issues in patient care

(ART)

Justin Oakley (on-campus); John McKie (distance education)

12 points + 2 hours per week + First semester + Clayton + OCDL (either semester) + Prerequisite: CHB4101 or equivalent

Synopsis: This unit aims to develop students' critical and analytical understanding of certain key ethical issues in patient care. The unit focuses initially on four main ethical principles commonly appealed to in this context: autonomy, privacy, beneficence and justice. These principles and the relations and conflicts between them will be examined in terms of a variety of broad ethical issues which arise in patient care, such as paternalism, confidentiality, informed consent, surrogacy, resource allocation, and euthanasia. There will also be some discussion of competing models of health professional-patient relationships, and issues of professional autonomy.

Assessment: Essay (2000 words): 20% + Essay (3000 words): 40% + Take-home exam (3000 words): 40% + distance education students are also required to keep a journal, recording their work for each topic.