Module LAW45615: Medical Law and Ethics

Department: Law

LAW45615: Medical Law and Ethics

Pre-requisites

Corequisites

Excluded Combinations

Aims

• The general aim of this module is to cultivate a critical appreciation of the legal and ethical difficulties raised by modern medical practice with particular focus on England and Wales. More specifically, the aims and objectives include the following:
• To examine the law's involvement with medicine
• To explore how legal principles might be most effectively used in the medical sphere
• To develop ethical and contextual awareness of selected medical topics

Content

• This module explores the ability of the law to adequately respond to the ethical, social and policy challenges
• The emergence of medical law and its ethical context
• Consent and refusal in the content of medical interventions
• Selected topical issues in, for example, end of life decision-making, transplantation, abortion and reproductive medicine

Learning Outcomes

• On completion of the module students should be able to demonstrate in-depth knowledge and understanding of the existing law and issues of ethical controversy in medical contexts.

• Students should be able to:
• Analyse and evaluate the existing law in light of the legal, social, political and moral questions raised
• Engage in an informed debate concerning current proposals for reform.

• Students should gain the ability to research, analyse and understand legal materials and the literature relevant to medical law and ethics.
• Undertake independent research

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• This module will use lectures to impart information and to guide students through the material they will have to research and analyse. Through discussion-led lectures and seminars the students will be invited to draw on their existing legal knowledge and engage with domestic, international, comparative and European legal materials, as appropriate.
• The relevant learning outcomes will be achieved through:
• Monitoring the student’s understanding of the material and providing additional guidance where necessary;
• Enabling students to develop a critical view of the material covered through the formative essay and discussion-led lectures/seminars

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment

An essay outline for the summative assessment will be marked as formative assessment. Word length 1,000