Medical and Research Ethics

Catalog description

This course is an overview of the development and practice of medical ethics. We will cover scandals of the past century as well as the foundational ethical principles those scandals led to that now govern the discipline. This course will cover the major philosophical and religious ethical systems, medical and research issues like different models of the doctor/patient relationship, including from paternalism to informed consent, the tensions between doing pure science and serving one's patients, from double-blind trials to compassionate use of experimental medicine, and the tensions between values of autonomy, medical expertise, and religious and cultural sensitivity, among others. C-4PH, LA-EHU, LA-TFR.