POPLHLTH 204 : Health Care Ethics
Medical and Health Sciences
2025 Semester One (1253) (15 POINTS)
Course Prescription
Course Overview
This course will introduce and explicate a broad range of the most challenging and important ethical issues in health care. This course provides a foundation in the content and methods of ethics as well as an introduction to specific ethical debates relating to population health and the provision of health care. We explore a range of real cases and apply ethical theory to current debates in health. There are four thematic sections: Introduction to ethics; clinical ethics; distributive justice and population health ethics. Students will work individually and in teams to develop their skills in ethical reasoning, discussion and analysis in a health context.
Capabilities Developed in this Course
| Capability 1: | People and Place |
| Capability 2: | Sustainability |
| Capability 3: | Knowledge and Practice |
| Capability 4: | Critical Thinking |
| Capability 5: | Solution Seeking |
| Capability 6: | Communication |
| Capability 7: | Collaboration |
| Capability 8: | Ethics and Professionalism |
Learning Outcomes
- Apply ethical theory and concepts to develop constructive commentary about a range of ethical issues in health. (Capability 3.2, 3.3 and 8.2)
- Present and discuss a broad range of ethical issues relating to health, including resource allocation, population health and clinical ethics. (Capability 2.3, 3.1, 3.3, 4.1, 4.2, 6.1, 7.1, 7.2 and 8.2)
- Apply ethical theory to decision-making, policy development and legislation relating to health and health care. (Capability 3.3, 4.1, 5.2 and 8.2)
- Critically reflect upon and defend one's own ethical commitments. (Capability 1.1, 4.3 and 8.3)
Assessments
| Assessment Type | Percentage | Classification |
|---|---|---|
| In class assessments | 20% | Individual Coursework |
| Tutorial team assessments | 30% | Group Coursework |
| Ethical case analysis | 10% | Individual Coursework |
| Extended ethical case analysis extension | 15% | Individual Coursework |
| Ethical case Consultation | 25% | Individual Coursework |
| 5 types | 100% |
| Assessment Type | Learning Outcome Addressed | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |||||||
| In class assessments | ||||||||||
| Tutorial team assessments | ||||||||||
| Ethical case analysis | ||||||||||
| Extended ethical case analysis extension | ||||||||||
| Ethical case Consultation | ||||||||||
Workload Expectations
This course is a standard 15 point course and students are expected to spend 10 hours per week involved in each 15 point course that they are enrolled in.
For this course, you can expect 2 hours of lectures, a 1 hour tutorial, 2 hours of reading and thinking about the content and 5 hours of work on assignments and/or test preparation. Some tutorial time will be devoted to teams preparing and delivering assessments.
Delivery Mode
Campus Experience
Attendance is expected at scheduled activities including tutorials and lectures to enable you to complete components of the course.
Lectures will be available as recordings. Other learning activities including tutorials will not be available as recordings. Some lecture time will be devoted to workshopping, which will not be recorded.
The course will not include live online events such as group discussions or tutorials. Live discussions are regular features of on-campus lectures and tutorials. There will be scheduled individual in-class assessments in lecture time (quizzes and case reflections). Some team assessments will happen in tutorials. Attendance at tutorials will be expected as part of team work.
The activities for the course are scheduled as a standard weekly timetable. There is no exam for this course.
Learning Resources
Course materials are made available in a learning and collaboration tool called Canvas which also includes reading lists and lecture recordings (where available).
Please remember that the recording of any class on a personal device requires the permission of the instructor.
Course materials are made available in the course website located in the University’s learning platform CANVAS which also includes reading lists and lecture recordings (where available). There is no course book or required text book. You will find required readings (typically scholarly articles) on Canvas. Students are not expected to source their own supporting literature for this course.
Student Feedback
At the end of every semester students will be invited to give feedback on the course and teaching through a tool called SET or Qualtrics. The lecturers and course co-ordinators will consider all feedback and respond with summaries and actions.
Your feedback helps teachers to improve the course and its delivery for future students.
Class Representatives in each class can take feedback to the department and faculty staff-student consultative committees.
Students in 2024 were generally satisfied with POPLHLTH 204 and found it to be well organised and intellectually stimulating. They expressed appreciation for the lecture notes we provide and the opportunity to discuss and debate in class and tutorials. Students really enjoyed our personable approach on this course, and we will continue to value our relationships with students and do our best to support learning and have fun together as well as working through some challenging questions. We adopted a new assessment strategy in 2024 and have taken on feedback to refine our use of Feedback Fruits for peer-marking.
Academic Integrity
The University of Auckland will not tolerate cheating, or assisting others to cheat, and views cheating in coursework, tests and examinations as a serious academic offence. The work that a student submits for grading must be the student's own work, reflecting their learning. Where work from other sources is used, it must be properly acknowledged and referenced. A student's assessed work may be reviewed against electronic source material using computerised detection mechanisms. Upon reasonable request, students may be required to provide an electronic version of their work for computerised review.
Class Representatives
Class representatives are students tasked with representing student issues to departments, faculties, and the wider university. If you have a complaint about this course, please contact your class rep who will know how to raise it in the right channels. See your departmental noticeboard for contact details for your class reps.
Inclusive Learning
All students are asked to discuss any impairment related requirements privately, face to face and/or in written form with the course coordinator, lecturer or tutor.
Student Disability Services also provides support for students with a wide range of impairments, both visible and invisible, to succeed and excel at the University. For more information and contact details, please visit the Student Disability Services’ website http://disability.auckland.ac.nz
Special Circumstances
If your ability to complete assessed coursework is affected by illness or other personal circumstances outside of your control, contact a member of teaching staff as soon as possible before the assessment is due.
If your personal circumstances significantly affect your performance, or preparation, for an exam or eligible written test, refer to the University’s aegrotat or compassionate consideration page https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/academic-information/exams-and-final-results/during-exams/aegrotat-and-compassionate-consideration.html.
This should be done as soon as possible and no later than seven days after the affected test or exam date.
Learning Continuity
In the event of an unexpected disruption we undertake to maintain the continuity and standard of teaching and learning in all your courses throughout the year. If there are unexpected disruptions the University has contingency plans to ensure that access to your course continues and your assessment is fair, and not compromised. Some adjustments may need to be made in emergencies. You will be kept fully informed by your course co-ordinator, and if disruption occurs you should refer to the University Website for information about how to proceed.
Student Charter and Responsibilities
The Student Charter assumes and acknowledges that students are active participants in the learning process and that they have responsibilities to the institution and the international community of scholars. The University expects that students will act at all times in a way that demonstrates respect for the rights of other students and staff so that the learning environment is both safe and productive. For further information visit Student Charter https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/forms-policies-and-guidelines/student-policies-and-guidelines/student-charter.html.
Disclaimer
Elements of this outline may be subject to change. The latest information about the course will be available for enrolled students in Canvas.
In this course you may be asked to submit your coursework assessments digitally. The University reserves the right to conduct scheduled tests and examinations for this course online or through the use of computers or other electronic devices. Where tests or examinations are conducted online remote invigilation arrangements may be used. The final decision on the completion mode for a test or examination, and remote invigilation arrangements where applicable, will be advised to students at least 10 days prior to the scheduled date of the assessment, or in the case of an examination when the examination timetable is published.