Courses

This introductory course in medical ethics provides healthcare workers with the skills and concepts needed to navigate the complicated issues raised in the practice of modern medicine. The course also reframes traditional medical ethics by focusing on virtue and narrative ethics, justice, social determinants of health, and climate change. Also covered are topics ranging from the beginning-of-life to healthcare reform to end-of-life. As an introductory course, a variety of sources, including academic essays, narratives, and video will be employed.

Course Director: Joseph Kotva, PhD
Email: jkotva@iu.edu
Phone: 574-631-1565
Primary contact for Adds/Drops: Stacey Jackson, sajacks@iu.edu
Home campus: South Bend
Type of course: On-site

Learning objectives:
By the end of this course, a student will be able to:

1. Describe various ethical theories and how they are used in medical ethics (P3, SBP5)
2. Articulate several major critiques of a principles approach to medical ethics (PBLI1, SBP5)
3. Expound on the role of narrative in moral reflection, especially pertaining to medical ethics (MK7, SBP2, SBP3)
4. Reflect on specific medical narratives and explain how those narratives advance our ethical reflection about suffering, illness, access to care, and other issues in clinical ethics (MK7, SBP2, SBP3)
5. Explicate how virtue ethics provides a different vantage point for understanding the moral life, especially pertaining to medical ethics (MK7, SBP2, SBP3)
6. Recognize different accounts of justice and the implications of those differing accounts for contemporary healthcare (MK7, SBP2, SBP3, SBP5)
7. Explain the implications of virtue ethics and theories of justice for disparities in health and healthcare (MK7, SBP2, SBP3)
8. Appreciate and explain alternative moral viewpoints from one’s own (ISC2, ISC3, ISC4)
9. Demonstrate the skills needed to navigate complex topics in medical ethics, such as (but not limited to) health care reform, end-of-life decision-making, infertility, transplantation, and physician assisted suicide (MK7, PC3, ISC3, P3)

Course activities:
Students will engage in and be required to complete for credit in this elective:

• Class discussions – twice-monthly seminars (October - July)
• Oral presentation of research
• Final project - research paper
  1st and 3rd Tuesdays of the month, October-July, 5:00-6:30 p.m. Times may shift based on exam schedules or other course requirements.

Estimated time distribution: 30% Class preparation; 40% Lecture/Seminar; 30% Library/Research

Assessments:
Class participation in seminar style class discussions of primary/secondary readings will be determined via faculty observation - 50% Students will orally present their research in class using a standardized presentation rubric – 20% A final research paper will be submitted and graded by faculty - 20% Open note exam graded by faculty – 10%

Prerequisites: Scholarly Concentration enrollment
Interprofessional collaboration: No

This course explores perspectives on poverty and health by weaving together various elements including: (1) exploration of health-related social needs and agencies/institutions addressing them in the South Bend area; (2) seminar sessions focused on health, social determinants of health, health equity, and health justice; (3) dialogue with primary literature and secondary sources related to health equity; and (4) personal reflection seeking to integrate these strands. This course begins with seminar sessions in the summer between P1Y1 and P1Y2 and concludes with sessions integrating clinical experiences in Phase 2/3.

Course Director: Mark D. Fox, MD, PhD, MPH
Email: markfox@iu.edu
Phone: (574) 631-1337
Primary contact for Adds/Drops: Stacey A. Jackson; sajacks@iu.edu
Home campus: South Bend
Type of course: On-site

Learning objectives:
By the end of this course, a student will be able to:

1. discuss the relationship between social determinants of health and health disparities (MK6, MK7, SBP2, SBP3)
2. integrate consideration of health-related social needs into the clinical management of patients (PC3, ISC2, ISC3, P2, SBP2)
3. articulate the moral significance of health equity and the relevance of its pursuit to their personal commitments and professional identity (ISC1, ISC3, P1, P3, SBP1)

Course activities:
Students will attend: Ethics and Health Equity Summer Seminar, 7 x 4 hr sessions, June - July, targeting Phase 1 summer. This seminar is offered on Wednesday afternoons during June and July. The culmination of the Summer Seminar Series is the development and presentation of a Community Health Innovation prototype proposal. Based on their growing awareness of social determinants of health, health disparities, and challenges and opportunities in the local community, teams of students will develop and present proposals for innovative approaches to address a specific problem they have identified and worked on collaboratively with other team members. Clinical integration seminar/reflection, 6 x 2 hr sessions, primarily in Phase 2. These sessions will be scheduled every other month based on exams and other curricular requirements for students in Phase 2. There would be potential for makeup sessions in Phase 3 to ensure an adequate opportunity to complete course requirements.

Estimated time distribution: 50% lecture/seminar; 50% library/research Ethics and Health Equity Summer Seminar, 7 x 4 hour sessions, June - July Clinical integration seminar/reflection, 6 x 2 hour sessions, primarily in Phase 2.

Assessments: Participation/discussion in seminar series by faculty observation - 30% Community health innovation project - 30% Reflective writing assignments using grading rubric - see attached - 30% Discussion leader for seminar - 10%

Prerequisites: Scholarly Concentration enrollment
Interprofessional collaboration: The summer seminar series includes learners (undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools) across various disciplines.

Students will engage in a longitudinal journal club in bioethics spanning the four-year concentration curriculum. Through a journal club format, a range of bioethical literature including the appraisal of empirical bioethics research, the description and assessment of problematic clinical cases, and critical analyses of major themes in bioethics will be explored. Students will also select from a menu of professional development opportunities related to the concentration -- e.g., hospital ethics committee, conference on social determinants of health, medical ethics conference.

Course Director: Joseph Kotva, PhD
Email: jkotva@iu.edu
Phone: 574-631-1565
Primary contact for Adds/Drops: Stacey Jackson, sajacks@iu.edu
Home campus: South Bend
Type of course: On-site
Learning objectives:

1. By the end of this course, a student will be able to:
   discuss major issues in bioethics (PBLI1)
2. analyze competing claims related to prominent issues in bioethics (PBLI1)
3. evaluate various research methods in bioethics (PBLI1)
4. critically appraise published literature in bioethics (PBLI1)

Course activities:
Students will engage in and be required to complete for credit in this elective:

• Attend and participate in quarterly journal club meetings (1 hour); must attend 8
  sessions over 4 years
• Serve as discussion leader for at least one session
• Prepare a critical appraisal of 4 approved articles
• Attendance at one or more approved clinical ethics professional development
  experiences (such as hospital ethics committee, IRB, ethics webinar, or other ethics
  educational experience).

Estimated time distribution: 20% Laboratory or Scholarly Research; 40% Lecture/Seminar; 40% Library/Research

Assessments:

• Class participation in journal club sessions - 30%
• Serve as discussion leader for at least one session - 20%
• Critical appraisal of 4 approved articles - 40%
• Attend an approved clinical ethics professional development experience and write a reflection - 10% Faculty will use the Professional Development Evaluation Form to evaluate the student's overall performance in the elective.

Prerequisites: Scholarly Concentration enrollment
Interprofessional collaboration: No