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Course Descriptions
Course Syllabi and Readings
Course Policies for Unusual Circumstances
Course Descriptions
In order to obtain the full Certificate, students must complete all courses marked with an asterisk (*), plus three additional courses, for a total of eight courses. Each course is worth one credit hour.
Students may enroll in more than the eight courses for additional tuition, or they may audit courses for $50 per course.
*HCE.G501 Foundations of Clinical Ethics
This course has three main purposes: first, to study the principal ethical norms that inform clinical ethics discussions; second, to examine the main models for conducting clinical ethics consultations; third, to present a framework for analyzing cases which is suitable for writing up case studies.
HCE.G503 Foundations of Catholic Health Care Ethics
This course examines the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services to offer a critical appraisal of the foundations of Catholic health care ethics.
[This course is required for the optional concentration in Catholic health care ethics]
*HCE.G510 Informed Consent and Surrogate Decision Making
A study of informed consent and decision making on behalf of incompetent patients, including topics such as: the legal and ethical basis for informed consent, standards health professionals must meet in disclosing information, standards used by surrogate decision makers, and the role of advance directives.
*HCE.G511 Death and Dying: End-of-Life Decision Making
This course surveys ethical issues and norms that pertain to healthcare for patients who are near the end of life.
HCE.G512 Ethical, Policy, and Social Issues in Pain Management and Palliative Care
A study of: empirical data concerning pain management and palliative care to identify major areas of concern relevant for ethicists in the clinical setting; the ethical framework for physicians and institutions in providing pain management and palliative care; legal norms regarding pain management, including statutes, cases, professional guidelines, and private accreditation.
HCE.G513 Patient Safety and Medical Error
This course examines the related ethical issues of medical error and patient safety, especially from the perspective of quality improvement in health care today.
HCE.G514 Organ Donation: Ethical Issues in Clinical Practice
A study of ethical and legal issues that arise in facilitating organ donation in the context of brain death, cardiac death, and living organ donation. Special attention will be given to common concerns of family members and clinical staff with current donation policies and practices.
HCE.G515 Perinatal and Pediatric Ethics
A study of ethical and legal issues that arise in the care of children and adolescents, such as genetic testing and counseling, parental refusals of and demands for treatment, care of critically ill newborns, adolescent decision making, intra-familial organ and tissue transplants, end of life decisions, and confidentiality. The legal and ethical standards for making health care decisions on behalf of children will be examined.
*HCE.G516 Law and Bioethics
This course examines the relationship between law and ethics, generally and in the context of health care decision making. It includes a brief introduction to the legal system and legal method. It then applies this learning to one particular question in health care law and ethics.
*HCE.G589 Capstone Project: Ethical Case Analysis
A mentored project for participants completing the Certificate in Health Care Ethics. Participants will develop and analyze an ethics case based on their clinical experience and areas of interest. Participants will be responsible for integrating relevant health care ethics literature and a discussion of relevant legal, cultural, and/or religious issues into their analyses.
Course Syllabi and Readings
Course syllabi and readings will be available to registered students via web CT and electronic reserves.
Policies for Unusual Circumstances
Policies have been developed to address unusual circumstances of participants.
For more information, please contact the Program Director at chcecert@slu.edu or (314) 977-6662.
Department of Health Care Ethics
Mailing Address: Department of Health Care Ethics
221 North Grand Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63103-2006
Campus address: O'Brien Hall, Frost Campus
Telephone: (314) 977-6661
Fax: (314) 977-5150
