Medical Ethics Course

Objectives – After working through this course you should be able to:

• understand the role of ethics in medicine
• recognize ethical issues when they arise in your practice
• deal with these issues in a systematic manner

Contents – The course is structured in the following way:

1. Chapter 1 introduces the course with a description of medical ethics and a discussion of its importance for the practice of medicine.
2. Chapter 2 deals with the difference between medical ethics and other ethics and with how individuals make ethical decisions.
3. Chapter 3 focuses on the patient-physician relationship, including beginning-of-life and end-of-life issues.
4. Chapter 4 deals with the relationships between physicians and society.
5. Chapter 5 is concerned with how physicians relate to other physicians, to medical students, and to other health care providers.
6. Chapter 6 introduces the basic ethical requirements for medical research involving human subjects.
7. Chapter 7 concludes the course with some reflections on the privileges and responsibilities of physicians and the future of medical ethics.

Author: John R. Williams, World Medical Association

Editor: Bjørn Oscar Hoftvedt, Norwegian Medical Association

Editorial assistant: Dr. Brooke Bible, World Medical Association

The Norwegian Medical Association has accredited the course with 8 hours/points in post-graduate and continuing education. Here is the link to the course.