Moral and Ethical Principles in End of Life Care OpenCourseWare: A Free Bachelor Level Health Care Ethics Class by The Open University

Published Feb 18, 2009

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Learn about the various ethical concerns involved with patient autonomy in the healthcare system in 'Moral and Ethical Principles in End of Life Care' OpenCourseWare. The free undergraduate course is offered by The Open University and is at an intermediate level. The course material can be completed in approximately 20 hours.

Moral and Ethical Principles in End of Life Care: Course Specifics

Degree Level Free Audio Video Downloads
Undergraduate Yes No No Yes

Lectures/Notes Study Materials Tests/Quizzes
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Moral and Ethical Principles in End of Life Care: Course Description

In the 'Moral and Ethical Principles in End of Life Care' OpenCourseWare, students can learn about the importance of autonomy. The course provides detailed definitions and examples on autonomy, paternalism and consent. It also explains how important it is for people to make their own decisions for their end of life care. Allowing patients to have autonomy is respecting them as adults and self-competent decision makers. The course also examines the four important moral principles, such as justice, beneficence, respect for autonomy and non-maleficence, which are used in the healthcare field. The material uses case studies as examples of scenarios where autonomy, paternalism and consent have been used and misused. Students can learn the difference between lawful consent and informed consent. The free course also discusses limited autonomy, incompetence and incapacity. The detailed outline provides information on how certain situations in healthcare have brought up issues with ethical and moral dilemmas. Students studying the case studies and figures can learn that dealing with these life-altering situations are not always easy and sometimes there is more than one right answer.

The OpenCourseWare includes lecture notes and study materials. If you are interested in taking this free course, visit the ethical and moral principles course page.

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