Overview

Medical Law and Ethics is an important area of law which affects everyday life. The module will examine the relationship between law and medicine. The link between medical law and Ethics is important, patients should have the right to make decisions over what medical treatment they receive. Where appropriate, comparative examples will be used to illustrate problems and the need for reform.

Topics may include: Medical negligence. Consent to treatment. The medical treatment of children. The legal basis of confidentiality. Mental health law. Reproduction. Organ donation. The law and the end of life.

Assessment Strategy

Excellent performance: -A- to A* (70+%) An outstanding answer containing all the material relevant to the question and no irrelevancy, all the material and references being accurate and correct, there being no inaccuracy or error, the whole presented in a clear, logical, critical argument with little room for improvement. An answer which demonstrates a complete mastery of the subject.

Good performance: B- to B+ (60-69%) High Standard: A comprehensive answer, containing all the material relevant to the question and no irrelevancy, all the material and references being accurate and correct, there being no inaccuracy or error, the whole presented in an argument which, while clear, logical and critical, leaves room for improvement in its construction and presentation. An answer which shows complete competence in the subject.

Satisfactory performance: C- to C+ (50-59%) An answer which, while always in the main accurate and correct, fails to distinguish between relevant and irrelevant material and is lacking in criticism. An answer which while reliable with regard to correctness is either not comprehensive or not entirely pertinent.

Threshold performance: 40% An answer which, while predominantly correct in its presentation of material, contains a significant level of error and is therefore not entirely reliable.

Learning Outcomes

• Articulate detailed knowledge of medical law and relevant ethical issues and apply them to actual or hypothetical factual scenarios.

• Critically engage with key ethical debates in medical law.

• Critically evaluate the key issues in medical law and the practice of modern patient care.

• Identify, synthesise, and critically analyse relevant legal sources in relation to medical law and ethics.