Undergraduate Module Descriptor

LAW3170: Medical Ethics and Law

This module descriptor refers to the 2021/2 academic year.

Module Aims

The aim of this module is to provide a sound understanding of applied ethics in the medical context, to understand how the law and ethical principles interact and to consider some of the key areas of medical law in more depth. You will understand how the law has evolved from a paternalistic model in the 20^th Century to a patient-centred model in the modern day. In Term 2, you will consider some of the more contentious areas of medical ethics in a legal context in greater depth, and understand how different ethical approaches are applied to these questions.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
This module's assessment will evaluate your achievement of the ILOs listed here – you will see reference to these ILO numbers in the details of the assessment for this module.
On successfully completing the programme you will be able to:
Module-Specific Skills	1. Demonstrate comprehensive knowledge of the legal and ethical principles relevant to medical practice; 2. Understand, critically reflect upon and evaluate the operation of the contemporary field of medical ethics within the legal and social context; 3. Understand specific medical ethical and legal issues in depth; 4. Synthesise and critically assess the content of legal and ethical norms.
Discipline-Specific Skills	5. Demonstrate detailed and comprehensive knowledge and understanding of a range of legal and ethical concepts, values and principles and explain the relationships among them, and their limits; 6. Apply legal and ethical knowledge to a problem and to construct an argument supported by relevant principles and authorities.
Personal and Key Skills	7. Communicate and engage in debate effectively and accurately, using communication methods appropriate to the discipline 8. Identify, retrieve and use efficiently a range of resources (including both legal and medical journals) with minimum guidance; 9. Work independently with minimal supervision and interact effectively within a team and learning group.

Module Content

Syllabus Plan

Whilst the module’s precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover some or all of the following topics:

Introduction to health care provision
Ethical foundations
Confidentiality
Consent and mental capacity
Beginning of life
End of life
Mental Health and Capacity Law
Abortion and Surrogacy
Assisted Dying

Learning and Teaching

This table provides an overview of how your hours of study for this module are allocated:

Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities	Guided independent study	Placement / study abroad
53	247	0

...and this table provides a more detailed breakdown of the hours allocated to various study activities:

Category	Hours of study time	Description
Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities	44	22 x 2 hour lectures
Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities	9	6 x 1.5 hour seminars
Guided Independent Study	110	Individual Reading and Lecture Preparation
Guided independent study	36	Workshop Preparation
Guided independent study	21	Formative Assessment preparation
Guided Independent study	80	Summative Assessment Preparation

Online Resources

This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).

Online databases, including LexisLibrary and Westlaw.