Medical Ethics and Palliative Care
Postgraduate
In Keele
Description
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Type
Postgraduate
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Location
Keele
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Start date
Different dates available
Major advances in medical technology, increased expectations, and changing moral attitudes have combined to generate many complex ethical and legal problems in the fields related to medical ethics and palliative care
Individuals who care for patients with life-threatening illnesses can face particularly pressing and difficult moral choices
The course provides an opportunity to gain a deeper and more systematic understanding of these issues, and to explore the moral problems health care professionals working in these areas may face
Teaching is delivered in short intense blocks, enabling those in full-time employment to do the course part-time and fit it around the demands of their work wherever they are based
The course is taught in Liverpool by lecturers from Keele’s Centre for Professional Ethics (PEAK) and the Learning & Teaching Department of the Marie Curie Palliative Care Institute
From time to time, law lecturers from Keele University may provide specialist input, and external expert speakers may also be invited to speak on the course
This is an exciting joint venture uniting academic and practical expertise
Students come from a wide range of backgrounds within the field of health care and many diverse geographical locations
Past and current students have reported that meeting and exchanging ideas with others who work in different fields and in different parts of the country is one of the major benefits of the course
The Medical Ethics and Palliative Care teaching team have many years experience of teaching postgraduate applied ethics courses
We are aware of the special problems and challenges which may face mature students and those combining study with full-time work, and therefore we do our utmost to offer a supportive and stimulating environment for learning
Facilities
Location
Start date
Start date
About this course
The course is open to all those with either a degree in a relevant subject, or appropriate professional qualifications and/or experience. Applications are welcome from people with a professional or other serious interest in medical ethics and palliative care, including (but not limited to) doctors, nurses, health care managers, intercalating medical students, radiographers, chaplains, charity and voluntary workers, social workers, hospice directors, medical and pharmaceutical researchers, and health care educators.
Intercalation
Medical students can opt to take a year out of their...
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Subjects
- Palliative care
- Ethics
- Medical training
- Medical
- Medical Ethics
- Full Time
- Teaching
- Moral
- Part Time
- Law
- IT Law
Course programme
The MA requires the successful completion of 180 M Level credits, made up of four 30-credit taught modules and a 60-credit dissertation. It can be taken either full-time or part-time. When taken part-time the four taught modules are completed in the first year, with the dissertation being completed in the second year. When taking this route there are no specific attendance requirements during the second year apart from a one-day research skills workshop – you may meet your supervisor at mutually convenient times, keep in touch via email or phone, or use a combination of methods.
When taken full-time, the course is completed within one year with the dissertation being submitted at the start of September.
Some students may not want to do the whole course. An alternative route is to leave after completing the four taught modules. Successful completion of these will lead to the award of a Postgraduate Diploma in Medical Ethics and Palliative Care.
The content of the modules is briefly outlined below with illustrations of the topics typically covered:
Module 1: Introduction to Ethics and Palliative Care - In this block, you are introduced to the main concepts and theories used in health care ethics. This is done in a number of ways that bring out their connection with issues of practical concern in palliative care. Additionally, Module 1 normally contains topics such as: the shift from curative to palliative care; the context of care (e.g. hospital, hospice, home); the relationship between ethical and clinical considerations.
Module 2: Autonomy, Paternalism and Advance Care Planning - Module 2 addresses issues within palliative care which relate to respect for the autonomy of patients and carers and for issues that arise over advance care planning. Important topics normally include: truth-telling; confidentiality; decision-making for the seriously ill patient; informed consent; consent and the law; advanced directives; paternalism; challenges of non-malignant diseases; and the nature and role of hope in palliative care.
Module 3: Ethical Issues in Care of the Dying - This module focuses on end-of-life issues and care for the dying. It includes topics on the significance of death; the sanctity and value of life; the idea of 'quality of life'; withdrawing and withholding life-prolonging treatment; and ethical and legal issues in euthanasia. The practical aspects of care for the dying are also addressed through a focus on the Liverpool Care Pathway.
Module 4: Policy, Resource and Research Ethics in Palliative Care - The content of this module varies from year to year to reflect current issues of particular concern in the field. However, central to controversies in palliative care and issues of policy, resource allocation and research, which from the central core of the module. In recent years, it has included seminars on special issues relating to the care of children; screening programmes; the role of religious belief in ethical debate; and differing conceptions of palliative care.
Dissertation
The dissertation gives students a chance to undertake a more intensive piece of work (between 15,000 and 20,000 words) on an approved topic of their choice. Students will have a supervisor to provide support and advice during the writing process. Dissertation topics are chosen by the student themselves and must relate to an issue within the broad area of the ethics of cancer and palliative care.
Some students start the course with a clear idea about what they want to write about - often an ethical issue from within their own practice - but the vast majority of students find and develop particular interests as the course progresses and they learn more about ethical theory, so don't worry if you have no clear idea what to write about at the moment. Here is a far-from-exhaustive sample list of topics that students have written on in the past:
"Do Not Resuscitate" orders;
Patient autonomy and end-of-life decisions;
Withdrawal of life-prolonging treatment;
Futility and ethical issues;
Truth telling and deception
Terminal sedation;
Euthanasia / assisting in bringing about death;
Concepts of a good death;
The doctrine of double effect;
The acts/omissions doctrine;
Screening programmes;
Resource allocation and palliative care;
Ethical issues in considering faith and spirituality
If there is a particular area you wish to write about, and would like to discuss this prior to applying for the course, please contact us.
Additional information
Medical Ethics and Palliative Care