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    Legal and Ethical Issues in Healthcare

    Credits
    15
    Course code
    NUR 40130
    Contact email
    nursing.cpd@keele.ac.uk
    Starting months
    June

    Course Overview

    This module is suitable for nurses, midwives and allied health professionals who wish to acquire an introduction to healthcare ethics and law.

    Overview

    The module focuses on the fundamental aspects ethical issues and the underpinning legal statures that support our professional practice.  You will also have enhanced your ability to think critically about this speciality and develop your reasoning skills.

    Module aims

    The course will facilitate you to critically analyse, explore and debate ethical and legal concepts, issues and theories relating to health and social care. It will provide knowledge and understanding of ethical and medico-legal theories, and the skills needed to apply them to real-world scenarios in a diverse range of healthcare contexts.

    Entry requirements

    Available to health care professionals registered with their appropriate statutory body, eg. Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC).

    Module content

    Introduction to ethical theories and approaches: Including philosophical approaches that underlie theory and principled approaches. Introduction to the law as it relates to healthcare professionals. To include areas of professional law, quasi law, common and statute law and to include negligence claims.

    Ethical decision making frameworks. Ethical and legal implications of looking after a diverse patient group. To represent different client groups from across the lifespan, including areas such as mental capacity and vulnerable groups. Also to include the rights and obligations of healthcare professionals as the carer for these groups.

    Patients rights and obligations as the consumers of care; To include resource issues, personal responsibility for health, inclusion in research. Autonomy and advocacy: Including the involvement of clients in the planning and delivery of care and the legal requirement of consent.

    Also to include the decision making for clients who lack capacity. Healthcare professional' accountability as professionals: To include scope of practice issues. Ethical decision making in practice: Exploring current debates. To include some online discussion.

    Teaching and assessment

    Theoretical preparation hours: Lead lectures, seminars, problem-based learning (40 hours), group tutorials, group work, (10 hours) reflection on learning, personal tutorials and assessment preparation (20 hours) = 70 hours

    Private study, asynchronous activities : (eg reading, research) = 80 hours

    Please note: In your programme you may sometimes be expected to role play and engage in simulated clinical scenarios with other students, such as the practice and observation of practical skills in physical contact with other students. For some specific practices, this may necessitate modification of dress - e.g., to shorts and t-shirt. These activities will be conducted in a professional, safe, respectful and culturally sensitive way, under the supervision of academic staff, according to a defined protocol. This does not apply to Clinical Pharmacy practice modules as all of these modules are distance learning.