STS 4650

Advanced Topics in Clinical Ethics

Course Description

Course information provided by the Courses of Study 2022-2023.

In this advanced discussion-based course, students will use their knowledge and analytical skills to explore complex value-laden issues in contemporary healthcare and health policy debate. News stories, books, and readings from the healthcare, ethics, humanities, and social science literature will springboard discussion around topics such as the illness experience, caregiving, the patient-clinician relationship, emerging medical technologies, contemporary health concerns, and the healthcare experience of marginalized and vulnerable populations. Case discussions based on the instructor's experience as a physician and clinical ethicist will provide students with an opportunity to explore how these issues filter down to and are experienced at the bedside. Discussions will also emphasize the importance of contextual issues, vantage point, and communication skills in creating and resolving disputes at both the individual and societal levels, as well as the interconnections between bedside ethical dilemmas and broader health system, health policy, and sociocultural/political issues. The topics covered will encompass the life span from birth to end-of-life.

When Offered Fall.

Prerequisites/Corequisites Prerequisite: STS 2051 or permission of instructor.

Distribution Category (CA-AS, ETM-AS)

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