Ethics, Deontology and Professional Practice

Recommended Prerequisites

Before starting this course, it is recommended that students have the following basic knowledge:

- Introduction to Medical Practice - History of Medicine; Ethics, Deontology and Medical Law – Concepts and their evolution; Bioethical currents and their application to medical practice; Doctor-patient relationship and its evolution over time; Professional practice; Communication techniques.

- Introduction to Scientific Research – Clinical trials: how to prepare the stages of their implementation.

- Physiology – Mechanism of fertilization.

- Information Technologies – ability to use the Internet for bibliographic research.

Teaching Methods

Theoretical classes to introduce new themes, complemented by theoretical-practical classes, where groups of students will be in charge of preparing debates, based on practical cases and within the scope of each theoretical theme.

Learning Outcomes

With the curricular unit of Ethics, Deontology and Professional Practice, it is intended that students acquire knowledge and skills to:

1. Know the relevance of Medical Ethics and Deontology, and its conceptual evolution

2. Become aware of the problem of medical activity linked to Health, Disease, Life and Death of human beings 3. Recognize the essential principles of Medical Ethics

4. Identify concrete situations that involve ethical evaluation, structuring concepts and justifying attitudes in line with the defined principles

5. Acquire competence to equate ethical issues correctly, seeking to give them answers in rigorous and pertinent terms

6. Make decisions regarding objective situations in medical practice, when ethical implications are at stake

7. Know the rights and duties of patients and families, as well as doctors and other health professionals

Work Placement(s)

No

Syllabus

The syllabus of the course includes the following themes:

1. Free and informed consent.

2. Advance directives of will.

3. Medical Secret. Privacy and Confidentiality.

4. The Medical Association and the Code of Ethics.

5. Ethics in Scientific Research; Investigator Integrity.

6. Clinical Trials; Human and animal experimentation.

7. Ethics Committees.

8. Ethical issues in early life:

    a. Medically Assisted Procreation

    b. Pre-Implantation Genetic Testing

    c. Prematurity, limits of viability and ethical approaches at birth

9. Human genome and genetic testing.

10. Ethics and the Mentally Ill.

11. Chronic Pain and Palliative Care.

12. Improvement Medicine.

13. Ethical issues at the end of life:

      a. Intensive Care

      b. Persistent Vegetative State

      c. Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide

14. Use of cadavers in Teaching and Scientific Research.

Head Lecturer(s)

Isabel Margarida Figueiredo Silvestre

Assessment Methods

Assessment
Other: 5.0%
Resolution Problems: 5.0%
Research work: 5.0%
Exam: 85.0%

Bibliography

Para além de todos os artigos, textos, códigos, pareceres, declarações e convenções que são disponibilizados no âmbito de cada tema lecionado, acrescentam-se ainda as seguintes fontes bibliográficas de consulta:

- Ética – dos Fundamentos às Práticas. Coord. M Céu Patrão Neves. Edições 70. 2016.

- Bioética Simples - M Patrão Neves, W Oswald. 2ªed. Editora Verbo, 2014.

- Fundamentos de Bioética - D Gracia. Gráfica de Coimbra, 2007.

- Principles of  Biomedical Ethics - T Beauchamp, J Childress, 7 ed. Oxford University Press, 2012.

- Ética Aplicada - Saúde. Coord. M Céu Patrão Neves e Jorge Soares. Edições 70. 2018.

- Ética Aplicada – Investigação Científica. Coord. M Céu Patrão Neves e Maria da Graça Carvalho. Edições 70. 2018.

- Comissões de Ética - M Patrão Neves. Gráfica de Coimbra, 2007.

- Embriões excedentários - entre a técnica, a lei e a ética. M Silvestre. Coimbra Editora, 2015.

- Ética em Medicina. Coord. Miguel Oliveira da Silva. Ed. Lidel, 2020.