Outline

Overview

This unit of study introduces students to ethics and law in relation to the Australian health system. The unit takes an interdisciplinary approach to exploring fundamental ethical principles in relation to health and health services. It also provides a basic introduction to legal aspects of health and healthcare. Topics of focus include mental health, health complaints, reproductive technologies, the start and end of life, disability, public health and genetic technology. Students will develop their own ethical thinking and an understanding of professionally acceptable behaviours appropriate to practice in a wide range of disciplines and health professions, including policy and administration. Learning is interactive and scenarios are used as discussion points to develop ethical thinking. Students will develop a written or multimedia research project based on an ethical and legal issue of their choosing.

Unit details and rules

Academic unit	Participation Sciences
Credit points	6
Prerequisites ?	48 credit points of units
Corequisites ?	None
Prohibitions ?	None
Assumed knowledge ?	None
Available to study abroad and exchange students	Yes

Teaching staff

Coordinator	Shane Clifton, shane.clifton@sydney.edu.au
Lecturer(s)	Shane Clifton, shane.clifton@sydney.edu.au
Tutor(s)	Caitrin Donovan, caitrin.donovan@sydney.edu.au
Tutor(s)	Gemma Smart, gemma.smart@sydney.edu.au

Assessment

The census date for this unit availability is 2 April 2024

Details
Criteria

Type	Description	Weight	Due	Length
Supervised test ?	Midsemester in-class test Class test of foundational concepts from material covered in weeks 1 - 4.	25%	Week 05 Due date: 22 Mar 2024 at 13:00	50 minutes
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Research project Project completed by Individuals or Pairs. Written or multi-media/written	40%	Week 11 Due date: 14 May 2024 at 23:59	2000 words solo 3000 pair 750 multimedia
Outcomes assessed:
Presentation	Team debate and 1000-word summary report In-class team debate	25%	Week 13 Due date: 24 May 2024 at 13:00	up to 40 mins
Outcomes assessed:
Participation	Weekly quiz and workshop participation Weekly online quiz and workshop participation.	10%	Weekly	Weekly, weeks 1-13
Outcomes assessed:
= hurdle task ? = group assignment ?

Assessment summary

Online weekly task completion and workshop participation (10% – 1% for each week completed. Weekly from week 1): Students will need to complete an online weekly task via the Canvas site before they attend their workshop and then participate actively in their workshop to receive 1% in their tutorial, up to a maximum of 10%. Students must complete the weekly tutorial task and actively participate in at least 7 workshops to pass the unit.

Preliminary assessment (25% Week 5):This is a class test on all material covered in weeks 1-4. It has been designed to test your knowledge to ensure that students grasp of ethical theories and can apply them to case studies in healthcare. It will use multiple choice, short answer and case study questions.

Research project (40%, due week 11): Students will work in pairs or by themselves to complete a research project investigating a topic of choice in which they discuss the ethical and legal aspects of the topic. Students may also choose to complete a multi media task. Length: 2000 words per pair of students (approx 1000 each), 1500 words for a solo assignment and 750 words plus a 5 minute video for a multi-media task. Further information will be provided on the Canvas site in due course.

Team Debate (25%, due Week 13): Participation in an in-class team debate. Students will be assigned to a debate team of 4-5 people (3 presenters and 1-2 researchers) and allocated a debate topic and side (affirmative or negative). Teams will also submit a 1000-word supporting report (see details below).

Further information on all assessment will be provided on the Canvas site after the start of semester.

Assessment criteria

The University awards common result grades, set out in the Coursework Policy 2014 (Schedule 1).

As a general guide, a high distinction indicates work of an exceptional standard, a distinction a very high standard, a credit a good standard, and a pass an acceptable standard.

Result name	Mark range	Description
High distinction	85 - 100
Distinction	75 - 84
Credit	65 - 74
Pass	50 - 64
Fail	0 - 49	When you don’t meet the learning outcomes of the unit to a satisfactory standard.

For more information see guide to grades.

Late submission

In accordance with University policy, these penalties apply when written work is submitted after 11:59pm on the due date:

Deduction of 5% of the maximum mark for each calendar day after the due date.
After ten calendar days late, a mark of zero will be awarded.

This unit has an exception to the standard University policy or supplementary information has been provided by the unit coordinator. This information is displayed below:

Students must complete the weekly online tasks prior to the workshop and actively participate in at least 7 workshops to pass the unit. Standard late penalties apply to all other assessment.

Academic integrity

The Current Student website provides information on academic integrity and the resources available to all students. The University expects students and staff to act ethically and honestly and will treat all allegations of academic integrity breaches seriously.

We use similarity detection software to detect potential instances of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breach. If such matches indicate evidence of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breaches, your teacher is required to report your work for further investigation.

Use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and automated writing tools

You may only use generative AI and automated writing tools in assessment tasks if you are permitted to by your unit coordinator. If you do use these tools, you must acknowledge this in your work, either in a footnote or an acknowledgement section. The assessment instructions or unit outline will give guidance of the types of tools that are permitted and how the tools should be used.

Your final submitted work must be your own, original work. You must acknowledge any use of generative AI tools that have been used in the assessment, and any material that forms part of your submission must be appropriately referenced. For guidance on how to acknowledge the use of AI, please refer to the AI in Education Canvas site.

The unapproved use of these tools or unacknowledged use will be considered a breach of the Academic Integrity Policy and penalties may apply.

Studiosity is permitted unless otherwise indicated by the unit coordinator. The use of this service must be acknowledged in your submission as detailed on the Learning Hub’s Canvas page.

Outside assessment tasks, generative AI tools may be used to support your learning. The AI in Education Canvas site contains a number of productive ways that students are using AI to improve their learning.

Learning support

Simple extensions

If you encounter a problem submitting your work on time, you may be able to apply for an extension of five calendar days through a simple extension.  The application process will be different depending on the type of assessment and extensions cannot be granted for some assessment types like exams.

Special consideration

If exceptional circumstances mean you can’t complete an assessment, you need consideration for a longer period of time, or if you have essential commitments which impact your performance in an assessment, you may be eligible for special consideration or special arrangements.

Special consideration applications will not be affected by a simple extension application.

Using AI responsibly

Co-created with students, AI in Education includes lots of helpful examples of how students use generative AI tools to support their learning. It explains how generative AI works, the different tools available and how to use them responsibly and productively.

Support for students

The Support for Students Policy 2023 reflects the University’s commitment to supporting students in their academic journey and making the University safe for students. It is important that you read and understand this policy so that you are familiar with the range of support services available to you and understand how to engage with them.

The University uses email as its primary source of communication with students who need support under the Support for Students Policy 2023. Make sure you check your University email regularly and respond to any communications received from the University.

Learning resources and detailed information about weekly assessment and learning activities can be accessed via Canvas. It is essential that you visit your unit of study Canvas site to ensure you are up to date with all of your tasks.

If you are having difficulties completing your studies, or are feeling unsure about your progress, we are here to help. You can access the support services offered by the University at any time:

Support and Services (including health and wellbeing services, financial support and learning support)
Course planning and administration
Meet with an Academic Adviser

Weekly schedule

WK	Topic	Learning activity
Week 01	Introduction to the unit, to ethics and to law in Australia	Lecture (1 hr)
Week 01	Autonomy, competency and consent	Workshop (2 hr)
Week 02	Professionalism and consumers	Lecture (1 hr)
Week 02	Theoretical Approaches to Ethics in Health Care	Workshop (2 hr)
Week 03	Torts of Assault, False imprisonment, negligence	Lecture (1 hr)
Week 03	Theoretical approaches to healthcare	Workshop (2 hr)
Week 04	Ethics for the start and end of life Part 1	Lecture (1 hr)
Week 04	Ethics for the start and end of life Part 2	Workshop (2 hr)
Week 05	Revision and advice for midsemester test	Lecture (1 hr)
Week 05	Mid-semester in-class test	Workshop (2 hr)
Week 06	Who is normal? Care and treatment in mental health: ethics and law	Lecture (1 hr)
Week 06	Care and treatment in mental health (no workshop due to Easter Friday)	Independent study (2 hr)
Week 07	Surrogacy and sex selection	Lecture (1 hr)
Week 07	Reproductive technologies	Workshop (2 hr)
Week 08	Adverse events and complaints	Lecture (1 hr)
Week 08	Ethical workplaces; Tensions at Work: Whistleblowing	Workshop (2 hr)
Week 09	privacy and confidentiality	Lecture (1 hr)
Week 09	The ethics of activism	Workshop (2 hr)
Week 10	Disability ethics and vulnerability	Lecture (1 hr)
Week 10	Disability ethics	Workshop (2 hr)
Week 11	Personal liberty and public health	Lecture (1 hr)
Week 11	Health care: resource allocation and rationing; Ethical and legal issues in public health.	Workshop (2 hr)
Week 12	Virtue ethics; the ethical person and the good life through health challenges	Lecture (1 hr)
Week 12	The ethics of care of the self; Wrap-up, student unit evaluation and debate preparation	Workshop (2 hr)
Week 13	Genetic and DNA testing	Lecture (1 hr)
Week 13	Debates: Ethical dilemmas in genetic testing and screening; The ethics of responses to Covid-19; Psychadelic therapy	Workshop (2 hr)

Attendance and class requirements

Workshops

This is a barrier task: you must attend at least 7 workshops to pass the unit. This is because discussion of ethical concepts is a key learning outcome for the unit.

Two-hour workshops run every week from week 1-13 and attendance is marked and participation graded.

Before attending the two hour workshops there are essential learning materials which must be completed to receive your participation mark, including recorded lectures that must be viewed so that you understand the content that is to be discussed in the workshops. These materials are available via the weekly canvas modules.

About the workshops

Workshops engage students in specific topics, present key concepts and examples, and discuss how each topic fits into the overall unit of study. Administrative announcements are made in workshops and via the HSBH3004 Canvas site. Workshops also involve group discussion and debate around specific ethical and legal cases. You are strongly advised to actively participate in workshops in order to do well in this unit.

A week-by-week description of the workshop topics, additional resources and readings is available on the HSBH3004 Canvas site.

As far as possible, PowerPoint slides presented at workshops will be available on the Canvas site for this unit of study at least the day before workshops take place.

Workshop preparation and grading

It is important that you complete the readings and the workshop preparation before coming to each class. You must complete the weekly online exercises via the Canvas site before you attend the workshops. These will form the basis of learning in the workshops and you must complete this and actively participate in the workshops in order to receive the 1% mark per workshop.

Students will receive 1% per workshop they participate in and complete the pre-workshop online activity/quiz for up to a maximum of 10%. The online activity/quiz must be completed before the workshop starts to get the 1% for the workshop.

Study commitment

Typically, there is a minimum expectation of 1.5-2 hours of student effort per week per credit point for units of study offered over a full semester. For a 6 credit point unit, this equates to roughly 120-150 hours of student effort in total.

Required readings

Readings for this unit can be accessed through the Library. Weekly readings are also available on Canvas – see modules for each week - or in the Unit Outline.

The main textbook is:

Kerridge, I., Lowe, M., & Steward, C. (2013). Ethics and law for the health professions. Australia, The Federation Press.

If you cannot access the 2013 version, you may also use the 2009 edition of this text, as it contains the most important parts of the 2013 edition, although the page numbers and chapter numbers will be different. The book is not available as an ebook, but several chapters have been made into ecopies and are available on the University Library website.

While it is helpful to have your own copy you do not have to purchase the textbook as multiple copies of both editions of this book are also available in the library including several in the reserve section at the Susan Wakil Health Building library.

Additional readings for this unit are included on the Canvas site where there are separate modules for each week. These modules provide more details of the content of each of the workshops, core and additional readings along with quizzes and other activities. They also contain additional resources which should be accessed to support your learning.

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes are what students know, understand and are able to do on completion of a unit of study. They are aligned with the University's graduate qualities and are assessed as part of the curriculum.

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

LO1. understand the sources of Australian law
LO2. understand the part ethical decisions play in health care
LO3. identify what constitutes an ethical or legal issue in the context of health care provision, planning, clinical application and research
LO4. understand the key concepts in law and ethics identified in the unit lectures, workshops and readings and apply these to case studies
LO5. effectively engage in informed discussion (both written and oral) on ethical issues arising in the health care context
LO6. identify laws and legal frameworks applicable to health care, health promotion and health research
LO7. produce written and oral work which reflects on the unit content through individual research and group discussion.

Graduate qualities

The graduate qualities are the qualities and skills that all University of Sydney graduates must demonstrate on successful completion of an award course. As a future Sydney graduate, the set of qualities have been designed to equip you for the contemporary world.

GQ1	Depth of disciplinary expertise Deep disciplinary expertise is the ability to integrate and rigorously apply knowledge, understanding and skills of a recognised discipline defined by scholarly activity, as well as familiarity with evolving practice of the discipline.
GQ2	Critical thinking and problem solving Critical thinking and problem solving are the questioning of ideas, evidence and assumptions in order to propose and evaluate hypotheses or alternative arguments before formulating a conclusion or a solution to an identified problem.
GQ3	Oral and written communication Effective communication, in both oral and written form, is the clear exchange of meaning in a manner that is appropriate to audience and context.
GQ4	Information and digital literacy Information and digital literacy is the ability to locate, interpret, evaluate, manage, adapt, integrate, create and convey information using appropriate resources, tools and strategies.
GQ5	Inventiveness Generating novel ideas and solutions.
GQ6	Cultural competence Cultural Competence is the ability to actively, ethically, respectfully, and successfully engage across and between cultures. In the Australian context, this includes and celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, knowledge systems, and a mature understanding of contemporary issues.
GQ7	Interdisciplinary effectiveness Interdisciplinary effectiveness is the integration and synthesis of multiple viewpoints and practices, working effectively across disciplinary boundaries.
GQ8	Integrated professional, ethical, and personal identity An integrated professional, ethical and personal identity is understanding the interaction between one’s personal and professional selves in an ethical context.
GQ9	Influence Engaging others in a process, idea or vision.

Outcome map

Learning outcomes	Graduate qualities
Learning outcomes

Responding to student feedback

This section outlines changes made to this unit following staff and student reviews.

The unit content available online has been improved in response to student feedback.

Additional information

Health Sciences Student Information Manual

Work, health and safety

There are no specific WHS requirements for this unit.

Disclaimer

The University reserves the right to amend units of study or no longer offer certain units, including where there are low enrolment numbers.

To help you understand common terms that we use at the University, we offer an online glossary.

Current students

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Support for students

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Additional information

Additional information

Work, health and safety

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

Media

Student links

About us

Connect

Current students

HSBH3004: Health, Ethics and the Law

Semester 1, 2024 [Normal day] - Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Support for students

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Additional information

Additional information

Work, health and safety

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

Media

Student links

About us

Connect