(in Polish) Pediatric Bioethics

elective seminars

The seminar explores ethics of pediatric medicine and research. Its primary goal is to provide students with conceptual, theoretical, and methodological tools necessary to understand and analyze problems of pediatric bioethics. Secondarily, it is designed to help students develop analytical and argumentative skills necessary for identifying, examining and resolving ethical dilemmas brought about by the advances in pediatric medicine and research on pediatric population.

Both healthcare and research in pediatrics present a multitude of unique challenges for children, parents, and physicians. Famous cases of Baby Doe, Ashley X, Alfie Evan, or Charlie Gard (and many others) illustrate the complexity of ethical reasoning in the field. This seminar provides a theoretical and practical overview of the ethics of pediatric medicine. Its primary goal is to provide students with conceptual, theoretical, and methodological tools necessary to understand and analyze problems of pediatric bioethics. Secondarily, it is designed to help students develop analytical and argumentative skills necessary for identifying, examining and resolving ethical dilemmas brought about by the advances in pediatric medicine and research on pediatric population.

The cause covers the following topics:

I. ETHICAL PRINCIPLES IN PEDIATRICS

1. Children’s status, needs, and rights

2. Autonomy, beneficence, and the rights and duties of parents.

3. Surrogate medical decisions and the best interest standard.

4. Critique of the the best interest standard.

5. Minors as decision-makers. Assent and dissent in pediatrics.

II. ETHICS OF PEDIATRIC THERAPIES

6. Ethics and critically ill newborns

7. Ethics of genetic testing/screening of children

8. Ethics of pediatric vaccination

9. Ethics of pediatric psychiatry

10. Ethics of pediatric tissue and organ donation, and transplantation

11. Ethics of end-of-life decisions in pediatrics

III. ETHICS OF PEDIATRIC RESEARCH

12. Pediatric experimental therapies

13. Children as research subjects

14. Non-beneficial research involving children

Main sources (in alphabetical order):

-- Diekema DS., Mercurio MR, Adam MB, Clinical Ethics in Pediatrics: A Case-Based Textbook, Oxford University Press, 2011.

-- Frankel LR, Goldworth A, Rorty MV, Silverman WA, eds. Ethical Dilemmas in Pediatrics: Cases and Commentaries, Cambridge University Press 2005.

-- Grodin MA, Glantz LH, eds. Children as Research Subjects: Science, Ethics & Law. Oxford University Press, 1994.

-- Miller G, ed. Pediatric bioethics. Cambridge University Press, 2009.

-- Ross LF. Children, Families, and Health Care Decision-Making. Oxford University Press, 1998.

-- Ross LF. Children in medical research: Access versus protection. Oxford University Press 2006

-- Wendler D. The ethics of pediatric research. Oxford University Press, 2010.

Full list of obligatory and optional readings will be provided at the first seminar meeting.

The required readings will not exceed 30 pages per week.

Knowledge

At the end of the course, the student has knowledge and understanding of:

- the role of ethics and bioethics in pediatric medicine and pediatric research;

- multi- and interdisciplinary terminology used in pediatric bioethics;

- main issues and problems of pediatric bioethics, as well as main philosophical positions, axiological and normative approaches, and argumentation strategies used in pediatric bioethics;

- the importance of socio-cultural, legal, political and economic factors for the practice and development of pediatric medicine and research.

Skills

At the end of the course, the student is able to:

- identify and analyze ethical problems in pediatric medicine and pediatric research;

- critically examine views and arguments developed by other authors, including other students, or presented in the seminar readings;

- prepare a written critical analysis of an article on the subject of the seminar;

- prepare and deliver oral presentation on the subject of the seminar.

Social Competences

At the end of the course, the student is able and ready to:

- critically evaluate the quality of received or acquired information;

- recognize the importance of ethics and bioethics as well as bioethical education for solving moral dilemmas in in pediatric medicine and pediatric research;

- engage in developing bioethics in general, and pediatric bioethics in particular, both in theory and practice;

- recognize ethical problems and challenges related to his or her own research and professional activity, to promote relevant ethical standards.

At the end of the course, the PhD student:

has knowledge and understanding of:

- methodology of scientific research in the field of pediatric bioethics

- ethical and philosophical aspects of fundamental dilemmas brought about by the advances in pediatric medicine and scientific research involving minors

is able to:

- use knowledge from various fields in the humanities to identify, formulate and solve - in an innovative way - complex ethical problems brought about by the advances in pediatric medicine and pediatric research

- critically analyze and evaluate results of scientific research, opinions of experts, and views of other scholars regarding ethical problems of pediatric medicine and pediatric research

- participate in or initiate scientific discussions and debates on pediatric ethics and bioethics

is able and ready to:

- critically evaluate one's own contribution to the development of pediatric bioethics; and to participate in discussions, formulate arguments, and express one’s own opinions in a manner respectful to others, their views, and to diversity of methods and approaches employed in the humanities

- recognize the priority of knowledge in solving scientific, theoretical, and practical problems in pediatric bioethics; and to respect standards of good research practice

The final grade will be based on:

(1) ATTENDANCE AND ACTIVITY: insightful participation in the seminar discussions and class group works, demonstrating student’s knowledge and understanding of terminology, problems, precepts and arguments discussed, her familiarity with the assigned reading as well as her analytical, argumentative and communicative skills – 40%;

(2) ORAL PRESENTATION of a seminar topic, freely selected from the provided list, demonstrating student’s knowledge and understanding of the topic, her analytical and argumentative skills as well as her ability to develop and deliver effective oral presentation in English – 30%;

(3) WRITTEN CRITICAL ANALYSIS of case or a text on a seminar topic, freely selected from the provided list – 30%

Attendance will be monitored on weekly basis. Two (2) absences are allowed per semester. Each class absence beyond the two allowed lowers the final grade by one full number grade (e.g. from 5 to 4, or from 4,5 to 3,5).

A ‘5’ grade will require consistent insightful participation in seminar discussions, drawing upon readings and personal experiences, as well as excellent oral presentation and written work demonstrating students’ mastery of the cases, terminology, precepts and principles discussed.

Final grades will be assigned on the following percentages:

100-90% – 5,0; 89-85% – 4,5; 84-75% – 4,0; 74-70% – 3,5; 69-60% – 3,0; 59-0% – 2,0

Number of absences: 2

For PhD students:

The final grade will be based on:

(1) ATTENDANCE AND ACTIVITY - insightful participation in the seminar discussions and class group works, demonstrating student’s familiarity with the course readings, her knowledge and understanding of ethical and philosophical problems brought about by the advances in pediatric medicine and pediatric research, as well as her ability to discuss, formulate and express arguments in a manner respectful to others, their views, and to diversity of methods and approaches employed in the humanities – 50%

(2) ORAL PRESENTATION on a freely chosen seminar-related subject (accepted by the lecturer) - demonstrating student’s ability to critically evaluate results of scientific research, opinions of experts, and views of other scholars regarding the selected ethical problems in pediatric medicine or pediatric research, and her ability to identify, formulate and solve - in an innovative way - complex ethical problems brought about by the relevant advances in pediatric medicine or pediatric research – 50%