MONASH UNIVERSITY FACULTY HANDBOOKS

Arts Graduate Handbook 1996

Published by Monash University
Clayton, Victoria 3168, Australia

Caution Copyright © Monash University 1996
ISBN 1320-6222

Authorised by Academic Registrar, April 1996

Human bioethics

Centre for Human Bioethics

Director: Dr Helga Kuhse

Deputy director: Professor Peter Singer

Graduate coordinator: Dr Justin Oakley

Distance education coordinator: Dr John McKie

Members of staff and their fields of special interest

HELGA KUHSE medical end-of-life decisions, new reproductive technologies, nursing ethics, resource allocation, partiality and impartiality in ethics, feminist ethics.

JOHN MCKIE ethical theory; resource allocation including theories of justice; moral psychology and moral development.

JUSTIN OAKLEY ethical issues in patient care, especially involving autonomy and confidentiality; ethics of clinical trials; surrogacy; ethical theory, especially virtue ethics and its applications, and the connections between moral psychology and ethical theory; emotions and their relevance to ethics.

PETER SINGER bioethics, especially the moral status of human beings and non-human animals; resource allocation and genetic engineering; the nature of ethics, including the contribution of ethical theory to our understanding of ethics, and the role of impartiality in ethics; environmental ethics; ethics and non-human animals; ethics and self-interest.

Introduction

The growth of scientific knowledge and technical ability in medicine and the biological sciences has led to a number of ethical dilemmas which perplex all of us, but especially those in the health care field. Does the fact that we can prolong the life of a patient in a permanent vegetative state mean that we should do so? Is destructive embryo experimentation justified by the prospect it offers of alleviating infertility? Should more medical resources go into intensive care for extremely premature infants given the cost of such treatment and its mixed outcome? These and many other questions raise complex ethical and legal issues. The study, discussion and teaching of these issues has come to be known as bioethics - a field generally defined as covering the ethical issues raised by medicine and the biomedical sciences.

These issues are the focus of the Master of Bioethics (MBioeth) and the Graduate Diploma of Bioethics (GradDipBioeth) courses taught by the Centre for Human Bioethics.These courses aim to provide an interdisciplinary education for health care professionals, teachers in the health care field, and others with a general interest in bioethics. It is hoped that those taking these courses will develop a deeper understanding of the considerations which should enter into ethically sensitive decisions in this new and complex area. The Centre for Human Bioethics also accepts applications for PhD candidature in bioethics.

PhD

The PhD degree is for advanced research and the university regulations apply. Candidates must first have obtained either high honours in an appropriate bachelors degree, or a graduate qualification, such as a masters degree.

Master of Bioethics

There are two routes to the degree of Master of Bioethics: by research, or by coursework and supervised research paper.

Master of Bioethics by research

The Master of Bioethics by research requires students to complete a substantial and original supervised thesis, comparable to the thesis required for other masters degrees, such as the MA.

Entry requirements

Only those students with appropriate qualifications in a suitable area, such as a good honours degree in philosophy (eg H2A or above, or equivalent) will be permitted to enrol for the degree of Master of Bioethics by research.

Candidates for the PhD may be required to enrol in the masters degree by thesis for an initial probationary period and after a period of not less than twelve months may then seek permission to transfer to PhD candidature.

Master of Bioethics by coursework and supervised research paper

In 1996 this course will be available on a part-time basis. Full-time enrolment may also be offered; intending full-time students should inquire at the centre. Students are required to take four semester-long subjects and complete a supervised research paper of 20,000 words.

Entry requirements

Students wishing to enrol for the course must have: (a) a degree in medicine or any other health science, in law, the biological or social sciences, or in a branch of the humanities, such as philosophy (or other degree as approved by the faculty board), requiring the equivalent of not less than four years full-time study in an approved tertiary institution; or (b) a degree (in any of the fields referred to in (a)) requiring the equivalent of not less than three years full-time study in an approved tertiary institution, plus not less than two years relevant practical experience; or (c) qualifications and experience which in the opinion of the faculty board are a suitable preparation for the candidate's proposed field of study.

Core subjects

The two core subjects are HBM5101 (Ethics) offered in first semester, and HBM5203 (Legal issues in bioethics) offered in second semester.

Elective subjects

The other two subjects, which at present make up the rest of the coursework, are HBM5102 (Questions of life and death) offered in second semester, and HBM5204 (Ethical issues in patient care) offered in first semester. Additional elective subjects may be offered from time to time, and further details of any additional subjects offered in 1996 will be available from the centre.

Part-time students normally take the coursework subjects in the following order:

Part I subjects:

+ HBM5101 Ethics

+ HBM5102 Questions of life and death

+ HBM5204 Ethical issues in patient care

+ HBM5203 Legal issues in bioethics

Part II subjects:

+ HBM5306 Bioethics supervised research paper

In accordance with Faculty of Arts policy for all masters level subjects, satisfactory completion of the Master of Bioethics requires achieving an overall grade of credit (65%) or above for all subjects in the degree.

Graduate Diploma of Bioethics

Coordinator: Dr Justin Oakley

The Graduate Diploma of Bioethics is being offered on a fee-paying basis. The Graduate Diploma of Bioethics is designed for those who wish to study the coursework components of the Master of Bioethics, but do not intend to undertake the supervised research paper. Students in this course will enrol directly with the Centre for Human Bioethics, and so will pay a fee to the university, instead of incurring a HECS liability. In 1996 the fee for the course will be $1,250 per unit, or $5000 for the entire course. The Graduate Diploma of Bioethics will be available on a part-time basis, and would normally be taken over two years. Full-time admission may be possible in certain cases, such as where an applicant has already completed some formal study in ethics or philosophy.

The Graduate Diploma is also available to students from anywhere in the world through distance education. Those interested in taking the course through distance education in 1996 should contact Dr John McKie at the Centre for Human Bioethics for further details.

Entry requirements

Subjects

Students in the course will enrol in the following subjects, which will be identical in content to those currently offered to Master of Bioethics students:

+ HBD5101 Ethics

+ HBD5102 Questions of life and death

+ HBD5204 Ethical issues in patient care

+ HBD5203 Legal issues in bioethics

Satisfactory completion of the Graduate Diploma of Bioethics requires achieving an overall grade of pass (50%) and above for all subjects in the course.

Inquiries and applications

Inquiries or applications for the Master of Bioethics and the Graduate Diploma of Bioethics (on campus) should be directed to Dr Justin Oakley, graduate coordinator. Inquiries concerning the PhD should be directed to Dr Helga Kuhse, director, Centre for Human Bioethics, Monash University, Clayton 3168.

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