Syllabus
Master of Biomedical Science
MBS 640: Medical Ethics – Spring A 2025
Credits - 3
Description
This course explores the range of ethical issues facing healthcare administrators, providers, and biomedical researchers. Students will gain expertise analyzing ethical dimensions of biomedical science and healthcare from administrative, clinical, and organizational perspectives. Current issues, as well as perennial conflicts in healthcare law and ethics, will provide real-world case studies for students to research and produce original analysis. Throughout the course, students will gain experience applying diverse ethical frameworks to biomedical moral dilemmas. Emphasis will be placed on critical thinking and moral reasoning in a biomedical context.
Materials
Learning Objectives and Outcomes
Students will be able to:
- Apply the major ethical frameworks of Utilitarianism, Deontology, Virtue Ethics to health care scenarios
- Apply the fundamental ethical principles of Autonomy, Beneficence, Non-maleficence, and Justice to health care scenarios.
- Analyze case studies related to physician-patient relationships and consider the moral duties of providers.
- Evaluate the ethical and legal concepts involved in reproductive health, genetic engineering, and end-of-life decision making.
- Apply principles of informed consent and standard of care in health care delivery.
- Apply principles of health justice to guide healthcare decision-making.
- Participate in a simulated ethics review board and evaluate biomedical scenarios using ethical frameworks.
- Articulate the results of a case study review or ethics review board in a manner that is understandable to a layperson, such as through a public-facing forum.
Assignments
Discussion Boards
Discussion forums are an essential part of the online course experience. Discussion prompts build on readings, lectures and course content, and allow students to contribute to the learning experience through collaboration with the instructor and peers. In this course, discussions are designed to help with critical thinking skills and to identify any key misconceptions that students may have with the course material. Initial and response posts to the discussion prompts should be substantive, organized and professional, and statements should be supported by references from course materials as well as outside sources.
Week 3: Case Selection and Summary
Students will choose a case study and and write a 600-word summary explaining the nature of the ethical dilemma and the current legal standards regarding the dilemma. Students will continue investigating the details and ethical implications of the chosen case throughout the course, culminating in the ethics review board presentation and committee in Weeks 7 and 8.
Week 5: Position Paper
In this assignment, students will produce a 1500 word position paper on a major moral dilemma in bioethics. As you prepare for a career in the biomedical sciences, regardless of your future roles, you should expect to face true ethical dilemmas. The goal is that this position paper will be a living document that you can take with you into your career.
Week 7 & 8: Case Presentation & Ethics Review Board
Part 1 (Week 7): In this assignment, students will take on the role of a participant in an Ethics Committee Consultation which has been called at a hypothetical hospital. Students will create a 10 minute presentation focused around the selected case for the Ethics Committee (a small group of your peers/classmates).
Part 2 (Week 8): Small-group committee findings and presentations will be shared in a whole whole class Discussion Board, and peers will provide targeted feedback regarding your group’s findings/ recommendations.
Grading Policy
Your grade in this course will be determined by the following criteria:
Grade Breakdown
| Assignment | Points | Percentage % |
|---|---|---|
| Academic Integrity Agreement | 10 | 1% |
| Weekly Discussions (7 @ 40 points each) *Ethics Committee Assignment Components will be graded as a separate category | 280 | 28% |
| Week 3 Case Study | 160 | 16% |
| Week 5 Position Paper | 200 | 20% |
| Week 7 Ethics Committee Presentation and Deliberation (Small Group) | 200 | 20% |
| Week 8 Ethics Committee Findings & Peer Responses (Whole Class) | 150 | 15% |
| Total | 1000 | 100% |
Grade Scale
| Grade | Points Grade | Point Average (GPA) |
| A | 94 – 100% | 4.00 |
| A- | 90 – 93% | 3.75 |
| B+ | 87 – 89% | 3.50 |
| B | 84 – 86% | 3.00 |
| B- | 80 – 83% | 2.75 |
| C+ | 77 – 79% | 2.50 |
| C | 74 – 76% | 2.00 |
| C- | 70 – 73% | 1.75 |
| D | 64 – 69% | 1.00 |
| F | 00 – 63% | 0.00 |
Schedule
Course Dates
Week 1: Jan 15 – Jan 19
Week 2: Jan 20 – Jan 26
Week 3: Jan 27 – Feb 2
Week 4: Feb 3 – Feb 9
Week 5: Feb 10 – Feb 16
Week 6: Feb 17 – Feb 23
Week 7: Feb 24 – Mar 2
Week 8: Mar 3 – Mar 9
| WEEK | TOPICS | ASSESSMENTS | DUE |
| 1 |
Week 1: Bioethics and the Good Life |
|
|
| 2 |
|
|
|
| 3 | Week 3: Beginning of Life Ethics |
|
|
| 4 | Week 4: Modifying Life: Genetics, Research, and Technology |
|
|
| 5 | Week 5: Maintaining Life: Decision Making and Informed Consent |
|
|
| 6 | Week 6: End of Life Ethics |
|
|
| 7 | Week 7: Health Justice |
|
|
| 8 | Week 8: Ethics Committee Deliberation & Sharing of Findings |
|
|
Student Resources
Online Student Support
Your Student Support Specialist is a resource for you. Please don't hesitate to contact them for assistance, including, but not limited to course planning, current problems or issues in a course, technology concerns, or personal emergencies.
UNE Libraries:
- Library Access for all students: Your library login ID and password are the same as the ones you use to log into Brightspace.
- UNE Library
- Library Questions: Ask a librarian or phone library staff at (207) 602-2361 or (207) 221-4330.
UNE Student Academic Success Center
UNE's Student Academic Success Center (SASC) offers a range of free online services to support your academic achievement. Writing support, ESOL support, study strategy and learning style consultations, as well as downloadable resources, are available to all matriculating students. To make an appointment for any of these services, go to une.tutortrac.com. For more information and to view and download writing and studying resources, please visit:
Accommodations
Any student who would like to request, or ask any questions regarding, academic adjustments or accommodations must contact the Student Access Center at (207) 221-4438 or pcstudentaccess@une.edu. Student Access Center staff will evaluate the student's documentation and determine eligibility of accommodation(s) through the Student Access Center registration procedure.
Online Peer Support
Togetherall is a 24/7 communication and emotional support platform monitored by trained clinicians. It’s a safe place online to get things off your chest, have conversations, express yourself creatively, and learn how to manage your mental health. If sharing isn’t your thing, Togetherall has other tools and courses to help you look after yourself with plenty of resources to explore. Whether you’re struggling to cope, feeling low, or just need a place to talk, Togetherall can help you explore your feelings in a safe supportive environment. You can join Togetherall using your UNE email address.
Information Technology Services (ITS)
Students should notify their Student Support Specialist and instructor in the event of a problem relating to a course. This notification should occur promptly and proactively to support timely resolution.
ITS Contact: Toll-Free Help Desk 24 hours/7 days per week at 1-877-518-4673.
Career Ready Program
The College of Professional Studies supports its online students and alumni in their career journey!
The Career Ready Program provides tools and resources to help students explore and hone in on their career goals, search for jobs, create and improve professional documents, build professional network, learn interview skills, grow as a professional, and more. Come back often, at any time, as you move through your journey from career readiness as a student to career growth, satisfaction, and success as alumni.
Policies
AMA Writing Style Statement
The American Medical Association Manual (AMA) of Style, 11th edition is the required writing format for this program. Additional support for academic writing and AMA format is provided throughout the coursework as well as at the UNE Portal for Online Students.
Online resources: AMA Style Guide
Turnitin Originality Check and Plagiarism Detection Tool
The College of Professional Studies uses Turnitin to help deter plagiarism and to foster the proper attribution of sources. Turnitin provides comparative reports for submitted assignments that reflect similarities in other written works. This can include, but is not limited to, previously submitted assignments, internet articles, research journals, and academic databases.
Make sure to cite your sources appropriately as well as use your own words in synthesizing information from published literature. Webinars and workshops, included early in your coursework, will help guide best practices in APA citation and academic writing.
You can learn more about Turnitin in the guide on how to navigate your Similarity Report.
Technology Requirements
Please review the technical requirements for UNE Online Graduate Programs: Technical Requirements
Course Evaluation Policy
Course surveys are one of the most important tools that University of New England uses for evaluating the quality of your education, and for providing meaningful feedback to instructors on their teaching. In order to assure that the feedback is both comprehensive and precise, we need to receive it from each student for each course. Evaluation access is distributed via UNE email at the beginning of the last week of the course.
Late Policy
Assignments: Late assignments will be accepted up to 3 days late; however, there is a 10% grade reduction (from the total points) for the late submission. After three days the assignment will not be accepted.
Discussion posts: If the initial post is submitted late, but still within the discussion board week, there will be a 10% grade reduction from the total discussion grade (e.g., a 3 point discussion will be reduced by 0.3 points). Any posts submitted after the end of the Discussion Board week will not be graded.
Please make every effort ahead of time to contact your instructor and your student support specialist if you are not able to meet an assignment deadline. Arrangements for extenuating circumstances may be considered by faculty.
Attendance Policy
8 week: Students taking online graduate courses through the College of Professional Studies will be administratively dropped for non-participation if a graded assignment/discussion post is not submitted before Sunday at 11:59 pm ET of the first week of the term. Reinstatement is at the purview of the Dean's Office.
16 week: Students taking online graduate courses through the College of Professional Studies will be administratively dropped for non-participation if a graded assignment/discussion post is not submitted before Friday at 11:59 pm ET of the second week of the term. Reinstatement is at the purview of the Dean's Office.
Student Handbook Online - Policies and Procedures
The policies contained within this document apply to all students in the College of Professional Studies. It is each student's responsibility to know the contents of this handbook.
UNE Course Withdrawal
Please contact your student support specialist if you are considering dropping or withdrawing from a course. The last day to drop for 100% tuition refund is the 2nd day of the course. Financial Aid charges may still apply. Students using Financial Aid should contact the Financial Aid Office prior to withdrawing from a course.
Academic Integrity
The University of New England values academic integrity in all aspects of the educational experience. Academic dishonesty in any form undermines this standard and devalues the original contributions of others. It is the responsibility of all members of the University community to actively uphold the integrity of the academy; failure to act, for any reason, is not acceptable. For information about plagiarism and academic misconduct, please visit UNE Plagiarism Policies.
Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to the following:
- Cheating, copying, or the offering or receiving of unauthorized assistance or information.
- Fabrication or falsification of data, results, or sources for papers or reports.
- Action which destroys or alters the work of another student.
- Multiple submissions of the same paper or report for assignments in more than one course without permission of each instructor.
- Plagiarism, the appropriation of records, research, materials, ideas, or the language of other persons or writers and the submission of them as one's own.
Charges of academic dishonesty will be reviewed by the Program Director. Penalties for students found responsible for violations may depend upon the seriousness and circumstances of the violation, the degree of premeditation involved, and/or the student’s previous record of violations. Appeal of a decision may be made to the Dean whose decision will be final. Student appeals will take place through the grievance process outlined in the student handbook.