M E D I C A L U N I V E R S I T Y - S O F I A
M E D I C A L F A C U L T Y
Department “Social medicine and health management”
Section “Medical ethics and history of medicine”
Address: 8 Belo more st. Hospital “Queen Ioanna”
Tel: 9432-456 , Fax : 944 23 88
A PROGRAMME
In MEDICAL ETHICS AND DEONTOLOGY
SPECIALTY ERGOTERAPEUTIC
COURSE: I
TERM I
NUMBER OF COURSE HOURS: 30
DISTRIBUTION OF THE HOURS:
TOTAL NUMBER OF THE HOURS: 30 TERM
LECTURES: 15 I
SEMINARS: 15 I
Graduating with mark based on continuous assessment
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ANNOTATION
Biomedical ethics can be identified as a branch of applied ethics. The task of
biomedical ethics is to resolve ethical problems associated with the practice of medicine
and pursuit of biomedical research. Is the practice is right or wrong? Is it morally
justifiable etc.
I. AIM
In result of medical ethics training the students must acquire:
Knowledge about the character of moral categories and principles and
qualities that physicians must have.
Knowledge about the specifically characteristics of inter-personality
relations and abilities for applying them in medical practice.
Cultivation of the necessity of continuous self-education and self-
perfecting as personalities and professionals, for turning medical students in health
educators among the population.
II. METHODS
Form of training: Lecture and seminar.
Except traditional methods as discussion, description, demonstration etc., because of
the specific character of educational contents and the aims an especially great attention
must be paid to the methods that increase cognition of the students: cases decisions,
simulation’s games etc.
CONTROL AND EVALUATION:
Except traditional methods will be applying tests on four cognitive levels and
eventually a defence of a short essay on a concrete problem.
RESULTS:
As a result of the theoretical and practical training in the course of Medical ethics, the
students gain experience and practical skills to make ethical decisions in Medical
practise.
III. SUBJECT PLAN (Lectures)
1. NATURE OF BIOMEDICAL ETHICS. BIOLOGICAL AND SOCIAL
DIMENSIONS OF THE HUMAN LIFE. (2 hours)
Fundamental categories.
Alternative views of Human Nature.
Fundamental principles of the medical ethics.
Moral values and worth’s system. Life as a moral phenomenon. Quality of
life. Definitions and dimensions of quality of life.
2. THE PHYSICIAN – PATIEN RELATIONSHIP (2 hours)
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Physician’s right.
Patient’s right.
Codes of Medical ethics.
Paternalism.
Autonomy.
3. INFORMED CONSENT
4. CONFIDENTIALITY
5. A QUESTION OF DYING. DONORSHIP AND TRANSPLANTATION. (2
hours)
The definition of death.
The question of resuscitation.
Social Justice and declarations of WHO.
6. GENETICS AND HUMAN REPRODUCTION. ( 2 hours )
Reproductive risk, prenatal diagnosis and selective abortions.
Genetic investigations, ethical problems.
Reproductive technologies and ethical problems.
Artificial insemination.
In-vitro fertilisation.
Human Cloning.
Genetics Engineering.
Surplus embryos.
Gamete donation and Surrogacy.
Contraception and Abortions.
7. EUTHANASIA. (2 hours).
Terminal ills.
Death with dignity.
Suicide.
Terminal illness and hospices.
8. MORAL ASPECTS OF RESEARCH IN MEDICINE.
Animal experimentation.
Clinical trials.
Consent.
The role of Ethical Committees.
Moral responsibilities of the research worker.
MEDICAL ETHICS (Seminars)
1. Nature of the medical ethics. Biological and social dimensions of the human
life. (2 hours)
2. The physician – patient relationship. (2 hours)
3. Informed consent. (2 hours).
4. Confidentiality. (2 hours).
5. A question of dying. Donorship and transplantation. (2 hours).
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6. Genetics and human reproductions. (2 hours).
7. Euthanasia. (2 hours).
8. Moral aspects of research in medicine. (2 hours).
IV. SYNOPSIS OF MEDICAL ETHICS
1. Subject, tasks and fundamental categories in Ethics as a science for the
moral. Fundamental categories in the Medical Ethics.
2. Principles of medical Ethics.
3. Ethical codes in Medicine. Physician’s rights. Patient’s rights.
4. Models of the physician – patient relationship.
5. Informed consent.
6. Confidentiality.
7. In what case the confidentiality can be broken?
8. Moral aspects of the human reproduction.
9. Contraception. Ethical problems.
10. Abortions. Ethical problems.
11. Prenatal diagnosis and selective abortions. Ethical problems.
12. Ethical problems of the genetic investigations.
13. In-vitro fertilisation and ethical problems.
14. Potential benefits from the map of the human genome. Ethical anxieties.
15. Human cloning. Ethical problems.
16. Ethical arguments “For” and “Pro” reproductive cloning. Legislation.
17. Potential benefits for the medicines from therapeutic cloning. Ethical
problems. Legislation.
18. Ethical arguments “For” and “Pro” genetic engineering.
19. Germ therapy of the embryo - ethical problems. Legislation.
20. A question of Dying. Donation and transplantation. Ethical problems.
Declarations and legislation.
21. Euthanasia. Ethical problems.
22. Death with dignity. Ethical problems.
23. Moral aspects of Research in Medicine.
24. Clinical trials.
25. The role of Ethical committees.
V. BIBLIOGRAPHY:
1. Jivkova, C., Biomedical ethics, Rainbow, S. 2002.
2. Jivkova, C., Cases in biomedical ethics, Rainbow, S. 2003.
3. Jivkova, C., Cloning, Rainbow, S. 2002.
Chief of the section
Medical Etics /Assoc. Prof. C. Jivkova, PhD/
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