Spring 2013
    Law No.: LAW7694
    Sched. No.: 113219337

New Frontiers in Clinical Ethics and Law (SC)
Section 1
X
Bonnie, Richard J.
Chen, Donna T.



Administrative Information:
During SIS enrollment, check on SIS for real-time enrollment numbers
Days, Times (Room):MTWR, 1600-1730 (WB119)
Credits:1Type:Lecture - short course
Capacity:16 **This information is current as of 05/20/2013 06:17:38 AM**
Current Enrollment:4 **This information is current as of 05/20/2013 06:17:38 AM**

Course Description:

This short course meets Monday-Thursday, 4:00-5:30 p.m., February 18-28.

As the population ages and medical advances allow early diagnosis of dementia, who is best suited to provide professional guidance for advance planning—doctors or lawyers or someone else? Does having a family member or other significant person intimately involved in medical care for individuals with cognitive impairment or other mental health problems enhance or detract from patient-centered care? Should individuals who lack capacity for medical decision-making be allowed to refuse treatment and should clinicians be allowed to treat over protest? What if they refuse treatment in advance while they have decisional capacity? What if they consent in advance to treatment over later objection? Should they be allowed to consent in advance to being enrolled in research?

As medical advances allow prevention of dementia and these same advances serve to enhance normal cognitive functioning, should physicians be allowed or prohibited by law from prescribing for reasons of enhancement? Or should the law be silent on this issue and allow professional norms to guide practice in this area?
This intensive interdisciplinary experience brings medical students and law students together for two-weeks each spring to explore topical issues at the frontier of clinical care, law, and ethics through multidisciplinary readings, immersion experiences, hands-on interdisciplinary group projects, and in-depth discussions. By working together within and across disciplinary boundaries, students will learn how other professionals think, discuss ideas across disciplinary boundaries, and create interdisciplinary ways of communicating with the general public and policymakers. Together, future lawyers and doctors will assess challenges facing tomorrow’s healthcare system; explore various resources available to address these challenges; and propose solutions. The session offered in spring 2013 address specific challenges like the ones described above.

COURSE REQUIREMENT: Group projects, class presentation, and a short paper