Course Syllabus

Spring 2024 | HUM-2020-VO03 - Bioethics

Online Class

Online courses take place 100% online via Canvas, without required in-person or Zoom meetings.

Faculty

Arik Mortenson
View Faculty Credentials

Hiring Coordinator for this course: Jennifer Gundy

General Education Requirements

VSCS Humanistic Perspectives

Note

Many degree programs have specific general education recommendations. In order to avoid taking unnecessary classes, please consult with additional resources like your program evaluation, your academic program catalog year page, and your academic advisor.

Courses may only be used to meet one General Education Requirement.

Course Description

This course explores ethical issues and decision-making processes involved in biomedical research and practice, as viewed from legal, medical, social and philosophical perspectives. Students will apply philosophical frameworks, theoretical approaches, argument development skills, and critical thinking to address moral questions pertaining to the beginning and end of life, biotechnology and genetic experimentation, justice in healthcare, responsibilities of physicians, environmental health and other pertinent subjects.

Essential Objectives

1. Discuss individual, social, cultural, and ethical implications of making decisions on a range of moral issues related to healthcare and biology (including right to life and death, reproductive issues, sexual assignment, cloning, and the role of religion in healthcare), and reflect on varied positions surrounding these.
2. Identify and define key concepts, facts, theories, and perspectives important in clarifying and resolving bioethical concerns including patient choice, confidentiality, informed consent, access to information, and physician/family relationships.
3. Discuss types of criteria which physicians, hospital administrators, government officials, and legal professionals use in making decisions affecting human life and how these affect individuals, families, and various populations.
4. Examine current controversies in biomedical research from political, social, and philosophical perspectives.
5. Explore philosophical and social justice implications of bioethical issues such as allocation of and access to healthcare resources, differential treatment of certain groups, and environmental health; describe their effect on specific populations and propose just solutions.
6. Demonstrate critical reasoning, research, and argumentation skills in analyzing and developing informed positions about significant bioethical controversies.

Required Technology

More information on general computer and internet recommendations is available on the CCV IT Support page. https://support.ccv.edu/general/computer-recommendations/

Please see CCV's Digital Equity Statement (pg. 45) to learn more about CCV's commitment to supporting all students access the technology they need to successfully finish their courses.

Required Textbooks and Resources

HUM-2020-VO03 Link to Textbooks/Resources Information for this course in eCampus.

The last day to use a Financial Aid Advance to purchase textbooks/books is the 3rd Tuesday of the semester. See your financial aid counselor at your academic center if you have any questions.

Methods

Course Requirements:

This course will teach students the moral framework and language needed to analyze issues in medical ethics. In doing so, students will be asked to evaluate and discuss current and historical bioethical dilemmas using classical and contemporary ethical theories. Students will be required to maintain an open mind. Our conversations within the discussion forums are how we will tackle these issues each week. Respectful participation in these discussions is required.

Students will complete a weekly analysis of a case study or ethical question that details their personal reflection on each week’s assigned readings and discussion. Other assignments will be described below. The instructor reserves the right to change the syllabus as needed, with advanced notice to students, in order to better achieve course goals.

Required Texts:

Pence, G. (2021). Medical ethics: Accounts of ground breaking cases. (9th ed.). McGraw Hill.

Other articles and videos as assigned via Canvas

Course Themes:

Ethical Theory, Death and Dying, The Beginning of Life, When Science and Nature Intersect, Human Research, Informed Consent, Equity in Health Care, and Individual Rights vs. the Public Good.

Academic Honesty:

Your work must be your own. Plagiarism may result in a failing grade of either the assignment or the course depending on the severity of the offense. Consult the College’s Policy on Academic Honesty for more information.

Course Structure:

This course will rely on the two texts mentioned above. The Pence text will serve as our primary course resource. We will examine case studies weekly to allow you to apply what you have learned. Regular class discussion and personal reflection will be central to the course.

Evaluation Criteria

Assignments:

Weekly forum discussions: Each week, all students will participate in class-wide discussions that are based on the week’s reading and/or assigned videos. Students must post an initial post in each discussion by Thursday of each week. Students must also respond to at least two classmates in each strand. Discussion posts must be substantive and integrate information from course resources.

In each discussion strand, you will be assessed using the following rubric:

100	85	60	0
Participated fully in discussion. This means that an initial post of substance supported by the course materials was posted by Thursday. In addition, two substantive responses to classmates to peers were made that helped to advance the discussion. These responses may have posed a question, stated an alternative position, or introduced additional information.	Participated in discussion by writing a post that applied to the topic, but was not well supported by the course materials and was posted by Thursday. In addition, two responses to classmates to peers were made that helped to advance the discussion.	Minimal participation in the discussion. For example: You may have posted an initial discussion post, but did not reply to two of your peers. or You’ve completed all of your posts, but they are of minimal length and substance.	Did not participate in the discussions OR participation is extremely minimal and unrelated to the topic.

Weekly Writing Assignments: Most weeks, students will submit a one-page reflection that should focus on their personal analysis of a case study or prompt given to the class. These will be turned in weekly through Canvas. These case studies will require you to examine the multiple perspectives of a bioethical dilemma in order to develop a conclusion. Reflections will be scored as follows:

100	85	60	0
Evidence is thoughtful, reflective response and insightful connections made. References readings and is a full page of writing.	Clear response, but may be somewhat general in response to the prompt.	Response not clear, or limited. Little effort given.	No Response

Mid-Term: We will have a mid-term examination. This will require you to write and think critically about bioethical issues and apply what we have learned in class. The mid-term exam will ask you to define moral theories and principles, and tackle several bioethical case studies.

Final Assignment: You will develop a significant research-based presentation requiring you to dive more deeply into a bioethical issue that interests you. This will be a time for you to take all the work from the 15 weeks and go deeper. You should examine at least one dilemma from the text and find other cases that have similar characteristics. How did those external events turn out? Did they have a similar outcome? How did you evaluate if the real-life solution was ethical or not? The details for this assignment will be distributed once the mid-term is complete.

Evaluations:

• Weekly Discussions and Book Discussions: 30%

• Weekly writing assignments: 20%

• Midterm: 20%

• Final Project: 30%

Grading Criteria

CCV Letter Grades as outlined in the Evaluation System Policy are assigned according to the following chart:

	High	Low
A+	100	98
A	Less than 98	93
A-	Less than 93	90
B+	Less than 90	88
B	Less than 88	83
B-	Less than 83	80
C+	Less than 80	78
C	Less than 78	73
C-	Less than 73	70
D+	Less than 70	68
D	Less than 68	63
D-	Less than 63	60
F	Less than 60
P	100	60
NP	Less than 60	0

Weekly Schedule

Attendance Policy

Regular attendance and participation in classes are essential for success in and are completion requirements for courses at CCV. A student's failure to meet attendance requirements as specified in course descriptions will normally result in a non-satisfactory grade.

• In general, missing more than 20% of a course due to absences, lateness or early departures may jeopardize a student's ability to earn a satisfactory final grade.
• Attending an on-ground or synchronous course means a student appeared in the live classroom for at least a meaningful portion of a given class meeting. Attending an online course means a student posted a discussion forum response, completed a quiz or attempted some other academically required activity. Simply viewing a course item or module does not count as attendance.
• Meeting the minimum attendance requirement for a course does not mean a student has satisfied the academic requirements for participation, which require students to go above and beyond simply attending a portion of the class. Faculty members will individually determine what constitutes participation in each course they teach and explain in their course descriptions how participation factors into a student's final grade.

Participation Expectations

Attendance is required for all classes. Attendance and participation grades will be calculated based on active participation within the discussion forums. Each week, you must meet the requirements in these forums to have your attendance counted. Not participating for three weeks for the term will result in not passing the course. Any absences will affect a student’s participation score. If you are struggling with keeping up with the class, please reach out to me to develop a plan.

Missing & Late Work Policy

Late Work Policy:

The purpose of our class discussions is to exchange ideas and engage in dialogue. Because of this, class discussions will not be accepted if they are late.

If you need to submit other kinds of assignments late, please reach out to the instructor to develop a plan. This communication should happen as early as possible to arrange for an alternative submission. Except in extreme circumstances, requests for extensions on assignment due dates will not be granted.

Accessibility Services for Students with Disabilities:

1. Provide disability documentation to the Accessibility Coordinator at your academic center. https://ccv.edu/discover-resources/students-with-disabilities/
2. Request an appointment to meet with accessibility coordinator to discuss your request and create an accommodation plan.
3. Once created, students will share the accommodation plan with faculty. Please note, faculty cannot make disability accommodations outside of this process.

Academic Integrity