| Tod Chambers, PhD For the first half hour (1:00 - 1:30 PM) the entire college meets together; from 1:45 - 2:30 PM the college will be divided into five small groups to discuss the readings and a case in which the medical community has reached consensus on the day's topic. From 2:35 - 3:15 PM the groups will be redistributed to discuss a more complex case on the day's topic. Twenty small group leaders (five per college) - Cultivate interest in and respect for the values that characterize the medical practice and to consider how personal and cultural values intersect with professional ones.
- Encourage attention to the social, cultural, and ethical aspects of medicine, considering not only ethical issues as formulated in philosophy and religion, but also interpretations of illness experience and the patient-physician relationship as represented in history, literature, anthropology, sociology, law and public policy.
- Introduce students to the ongoing conversation about ethical issues in the medical community and encourage habits of participation and toleration of differences.
- Consider the experience of patient, family, and physician—how they differ and how they impinge upon one another—and especially to consider the appropriate care of the chronically ill and dying.
Required readings are listed on the weekly summary sheets. Please come to class prepared to discuss them. To prepare for class and to keep up your writing skills, you are asked to write a short response to the topic of next week's reading. A paragraph of 200-250 words is about right. This paragraph can reflect your thinking process or it can be a more finished product. It must not be a dry summary of the reading. Each week's response essay is due before class begins. Tutors in each college will decide about the format. One good way is to keep each week on a separate sheet in a folder with rings: that way you can collect them when your tutor returns them. Some tutors will want to see them all at the end of the unit. Computer disks and e-mail are other possibilities. Check with your tutor. Your faculty tutor will have the primary responsibility for evaluation, which will be based upon: | Attendance: | You are expected to be on time for every session and to remain with your group until the day's agenda is complete. If you are ill or if other circumstances beyond your control prevent you from attending a session, you must notify your tutor and mentor beforehand. Your reason for absence will be communicated to the unit director, and individualized make-up arrangements will be made when feasible. Unexplained or unexcused absences can be considered grounds for failing the unit. | | Participation: | You must participate in all unit activities—both small group and full college sessions. In small group sessions, the tutors must evaluate your understanding of the unit's information and your ability to work with others, so your participation is necessary in order for this evaluation. You are also required to write a brief response essay to the readings. | | Knowledge: | Your grasp of the knowledge relevant to medical ethics will be assessed by your tutor, who will gauge the quality of your discussion in the seminar groups. There will be a weekly quiz on the readings. In order to pass the unit, you will need to pass each quiz. | | Professionalism: | Throughout the unit you are expected to demonstrate appropriate respect for patients, family members, colleagues, and teachers. We expect you to fulfill all the requirements of the medical school's Professional Code of Conduct. Inappropriate behavior can be grounds for failure even though you have fulfilled all the other requirements of the unit. |
Your grade for this unit will be pass, marginal pass, or fail. This information will be shared with the Associate Dean for Student Programs and your College Mentor. Subsequent performance of students who marginally pass this unit will be monitored to ensure that those students are getting the help they need. Students who fail this unit will be provided with a remediation plan. Note that the final PPS/M1 course grade is comprised of grades in each M1 unit. Students who fail two or more M1 units will fail the entire PPS/M1 course, and the Student Promotions Committee will be provided with a recommendation that the PPS/M1 course be repeated in full. You must complete the anonymous on-line evaluations of your faculty and of the unit within one week after the end of the unit to meet the requirements of Ethics and Values. The evaluation program conceals your identity so that individual comments cannot be traced to individual students; however, the program identifies whether or not you have submitted evaluations. Failure to complete both evaluations within this time frame will result in a grade of "Incomplete." Failure to submit evaluations within one month after the unit ends will lower the best obtainable unit grade to "Marginal Pass." Unless there are extenuating circumstances, a grade of "Incomplete" that remains at the end of the academic year will convert to "Fail." The Ethics and Values unit exam will take place during part of the discussion class time and will be a group exam. Each small group will be given an ethics case to identify the moral questions and provide recommendations for their resolution. | Week 3 | - | Introduction | Week 4 | - | Confidentiality and Truth telling | | Week 5 | - | Decision-making Capability | | Week 6 | - | Informed Consent | | Week 7 | - | Advanced Directives | | Week 8 | - | Surrogate Decision-Making | | Week 9 | - | Futility | | Week 10 | - | Disability Ethics | | Week 11 | - | Ethical Issues in Genetics | | Week 12 | - | Ethical Issues in OB/GYN | | Week 13 | - | Ethical Issues in Pediatrics | | Week 14 | - | No class (Thanksgiving) | | Week 15 | - | Ethical Issues in Psychiatry | | Week 16 | - | Medical Student Ethics |
As members of the Northwestern University Medical School community we are entrusted with the care of human life. With this great privilege, we have an obligation to uphold the ideals and values of the medical profession. This Professional Conduct Code articulates the principles by which we will abide. By adopting these principles into our personal and professional lives, we will positively influence our present community at the Medical School and our future as professionals. We expect the teachers and learners of the Medical School community to take responsibility for fostering an educational environment that promotes these principles and ensures that we can live by this code. - My conduct toward colleagues, teachers, patients, and all health care professionals will be guided by the virtues of honesty, compassion, and personal integrity.
- I will treat all people equally without regard to age, race, gender, religion, ethnicity, disability, social status, sexual orientation, or political ideology.
- Through my language, deportment, and appearance, I will present myself in a professional manner.
- I pledge to take care of myself physically and psychologically.
- Promoting and protecting a patient's health, well-being, and dignity are my cardinal duties.
- I will keep all information that I receive about patients in confidence from anyone outside the medical team.
- I will respect the directives of my superiors, but I will question any directives that endanger the health or well-being of a patient or are contrary to a patient's wishes.
- I will not give a false impression of my medical knowledge and skill, nor will I allow anyone to believe that my role is anything other than that of a medical student.
- I will not exploit patients or their families for personal or financial gain.
- I will act in a manner that promotes mutual respect and cooperation in the Medical School community.
- I will abide by the Medical School's policies and procedures.
- I am committed to the improvement of the Medical School and my own education through communication and evaluation.
- I will support an atmosphere conducive to learning and assist my colleagues in meeting their professional obligations as well.
- In all my academic examinations and assignments I will neither give nor receive unpermitted assistance.
- I pledge to maintain this code, to discourage its violation, and to report any infraction.
“Though learning may be conferred by solitude, its application must be attained by general converse…[T]he acquisition of knowledge is often much facilitated by the advantages of society: he that never compares his notions with those of others, readily acquiesces in his first thoughts and very seldom discovers the objections which may be raised against his opinions; he therefore, often thinks himself in possession of truth, when he is only fondling opinions …” –Samuel Johnson | | |
