MA and PgDip in the Ethics of Cancer and Palliative Care

Introduction

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 cancer 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.

We regard high levels of student participation in discussion as particularly important for teaching and learning in this area, and employ teaching techniques which encourage this wherever possible. Students come from a diverse range of backgrounds within the field of health care, and geographic 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 Ethics of Cancer and Palliative Care teaching team have many years experience of teaching postgraduate applied ethics courses. We are well 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. Each student is assigned a personal supervisor from the teaching team, whom they can contact for help or advice at any time during the course.

 

Course Structure Course Content Assessment  Entry Requirements Frequently Asked Questions

 

Course Structure

The MA in the Ethics of Cancer and Palliative Care involves both taught sessions and a chance for students to write a dissertation on a topic of their choosing related to the course. Teaching occurs in four three-day modules that run between October and April (dates for the teaching blocks can be found here). This innovative structure has proved particularly popular with health care professionals in full-time employment as it allows students to combine study with full time work, and family and other commitments. It also enables students who are based in all areas of the UK and beyond to attend. Contact between students and staff, and between students, is facilitated between modules to create a distinctive student community.

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 – you may meet your supervisor at mutually convenient times, keep in touch via email or phone, or use a combination of methods. If the course is being taken full time, it can be 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 the Ethics of Cancer and Palliative Care.

Suitably qualified candidates with a background in Medical Ethics or a related subject might wish to consider a Professional Doctorate instead. Supervision is also available for PhD, MRes, and MPhil students. Please contact us for further information

Course Content

Module 1: 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 cancer and 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 Consent

Module 2 addresses issues within cancer and palliative care which relate to respect for the autonomy of patients and carers. Important topics normally include: truth-telling; confidentiality; decision-making for the seriously ill patient; informed consent; consent and the law; paternalism; and the nature and role of hope in palliative care.

Module 3: Quality of Life, Death, and Dying

This module focuses on end-of-life issues and normally includes seminars on defining death; the significance of death; the sanctity and value of life; the idea of `quality of life'; withdrawing and withholding life-prolonging treatment; advance statements about treatment (`living wills'); and ethical and legal issues in euthanasia.

Module 4: Contemporary Issues in the Ethics of Cancer and Palliative Care

The content of this module varies from year to year to reflect current issues of particular concern in the field. In recent years, it has included seminars on resource allocation; research ethics; special issues relating to the care of children; screening programmes; the role of religious belief in ethical debate; differing conceptions of palliative care.

Dissertation

The dissertation gives students a chance to undertake a more intensive piece of work (between 15000 and 20000 words) on a topic of interest to them. While working on the dissertation 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.

Assessment

Each teaching block is followed an assignment. For module one this is made up of three short written tasks, whilst for each of modules 2, 3 and 4 the assignment consists of a 4,000 word essay. All modules must be passed in order to proceed to the dissertation.

Entry Requirements

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 the ethics of cancer 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.

If you are unsure about your suitability for the course (or the course's suitability for you) please don't hesitate to email us (or phone 01782 734 084), for informal advice and further information. Click here for more information about making an application.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

When should I apply? Is there a closing date for applications?

Please see our Course Dates and Applications Deadlines page for the latest information on closing dates. The closing date for applications will also be stated in the information pack. Occasionally we can accept late applications but this will mean a delay in obtaining access to the library and computer systems etc. We do advise that you apply as early as possible as our courses are on occasion over-subscribed.

Click here for more information about making an application.

Is the course suitable for me?

If you have a strong interest in the ethical questions that are raised in the area of cancer and palliative care, and have either a degree in a relevant subject or a professional qualification and/or strong personal experience in this area, then you are probably suitable for the course.
For those who may be returning to education after a period away the idea of doing so (particularly at postgraduate level) may seem very daunting. However, our course is designed to meet the needs of practitioners, and assumes no prior knowledge of law or moral philosophy. In the first teaching block, there are introductory sessions on how to construct and analyse ethical arguments, and also on the style, content, and structure required for a good postgraduate ethics essay. Students will also have the opportunity to submit a draft plan of their first assignment for comments and feedback prior to the final deadline for submission.

If you have any questions about the course, about your suitability, or whether it meets your particular needs, please contact us for an informal chat.

Can I take the course as an intercalating student?

You can. Students studying medicine can opt to take a year out of their undergraduate medical studies in order to study a subject area in greater depth, before returning to complete the medical course; this is called an intercalated degree. Intercalating students would take the MA in the Ethics of Cancer and Palliative Care as full time students to ensure that the course is completed within one year. If you have any questions about studying within the Centre for Professional Ethics as an intercalating student please contact us.

What are the fees? Is there any funding available?

Please contact us for the latest fees information. Like all UK universities, Keele has different rates for "home" (UK and EU students) and "overseas" students. Fee status is determined by residency rather than nationality. More information on what your fee status is likely to be can be found here

For current Keele undergraduate students who apply to do the course full-time bursaries are available to help with the cost of fees. Unfortunately, we are not currently able to offer any other forms of financial assistance. We would recommend that students enquire whether any training funds are available from their employers, as many of our current students have been successful in obtaining whole or part funding for the course.

Do you accept students from outside the UK?

We do. Fees from students from all EU Member States are the same as for home students. The same admissions criteria apply to overseas applicants, but we would also normally expect English language test scores of at least IELTS 6.5 (or equivalent) from students from non-English-speaking countries. Excellent English language skills are particularly important for this kind of course, as small differences in language can make a large difference in meaning in ethics and applied philosophy.

How many hours per week will it take?

It is difficult to give a definitive answer, as this will obviously vary from student to student and from week to week. In addition to the four teaching blocks, we expect that the time commitment for those taking the course part time will be around eight or nine hours per week for the majority of people, with a proportionately higher workload for those doing it full time. Many students spend a lot of time working on an assignment, but might then put in much less time in the weeks following submission. Although the course is designed to fit around work and family responsibilities, it is still a substantial commitment.

Is accommodation provided during the taught blocks? Do the course fees include accommodation?

Students are responsible for booking their own accommodation, and this is not included in the course fees. However, information about accommodation in the local area is available from the Marie Curie Palliative Care Institute if needed.

I live a long way away from Keele and Liverpool. How will I be able to get access to books and journals?

As well as Keele library, our students also have online access to a wide range of books, journal articles and other materials through the ATHENS password system. Keele is a member of the UK SCONUL scheme, which means that our students can borrow books from most other university libraries in the UK. Keele students also have access to the Blackwell Reference Online, The Philosophers' Index, Lawtel, Westlaw, LexisNexis, Butterworths, and netLibrary. A Library and IT training session is included in the first module of the course. More information on electronic resources can be found on our Information for Current Students page.

Course tutors regularly check the availability of books on the reading list for each assignment, and try to recommend readings that are not only in the Keele library, but which are also either available online or as part of a reasonably-priced edited collection. Assignment questions and reading lists for the whole first year are contained in the course handbook in order to allow students to plan ahead.

What areas have MA students written about in their dissertations?

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 diploma year, please contact us.

What support is available for disabled students or students with particular learning needs?

See the University disability services and equality and diversity pages.

Are Continuing Professional Development (CPD) points available for this course?
CPD points may be available. Please see our CPD page for details.