Course Descriptions

PHL 255 - Professional Ethics for Science and Medicine

3 Credits

This course explores the professional ethics of science and health care and methods of satisfactorily resolving moral problems that arise in these fields. Students learn to cultivate the ability to recognize moral concerns and the elements necessary to competently understand a moral problem. Topics include patient and research subject safety, autonomy and consent, confidentiality, privacy, objectivity and uncertainty in clinical and scientific knowledge, professional codes of ethics, research integrity, conflicts of interest, issues of race, class, gender, and social justice, property rights, the problems associated with professionalization and professional roles in a global society. Students learn philosophical methods for engaging with these issues, apply these methods to case studies, and think broadly about the role of scientists in a liberal democracy.

New SUNY General Education: SUNY - Critical Thinking and Reasoning Competency, SUNY - Diversity: Equity, Inclusion, and Social Justice

Course Learning Outcomes
1.Explain key philosophical concepts related to professional ethics in science and health care.
2.Analyze case studies in health care or scientific research to identify ethical or social justice issues regarding knowledge production and access to resources.
3.Analyze, apply, and evaluate the moral concepts and theories related to racial or gender exclusion as they pertain to health professions or scientific research.  
4.Describe the influences of class, race, or gender on membership in the health professions and scientific disciplines.
5.Write an argument that analyzes, evaluates, or defends a solution to a specific problem in professional ethics.
6.Identify objections or alternatives to proposed solutions to theoretical or practical problems.
7.Demonstrate methods for including non-professionals and/or marginalized groups in health policy and/or scientific research.
8.Explain how health care and scientific research are related to global inequality and climate change.

Course Offered Fall, Spring

Use links below to see if this course is offered:
Fall Semester 2024
Spring Semester 2024
Summer Session 2024