vcc.ca
NURS 4168: Ethics in Health Care
Effective date
September 2020
Department
Baccalaureate Nursing
School
Health Sciences
Description
This course is designed to provide students with an in-depth study of ethics as it applies to the nursing profession. The course activities will facilitate exploration of numerous ethical issues related to health promotion work. Emphasis includes philosophical theories, principles of health care ethics, decision making processes, and morality as they inform a detailed discussion of ethical issues in nursing from a professional, interdisciplinary and structural (organizational ethics and political-economic) perspective. A core aspect of this experience is to learn how to co-create safe moral communities of practice and to engage in reflexive dialogue and praxis with peers, interdisciplinary partners and the various people that nurses will encounter within their health promotion practice.
Credits
2.0
Year of study
4th Year Post-secondary
Prerequisites
NURS 3262, NURS 3263, NURS 3264, NURS 3266, NURS 3370.
Corequisites
NURS 4163, NURS 4164, NURS 4166, NURS 4169.
Course Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:
- Describe the role of professional ethics in nursing and analyze current nursing practice with the use of various ethical lenses
- Apply principles of ethics to ethical decision making in-depth case-based analyses of ethical issues in nursing and health care.
- Identify/analyze structural (organizational, political-economic) resources and/or constraints that may facilitate/challenge the resolution of ethical problems in nursing practice.
- Explore ways of engaging relational knowledge and ways of being in ethical decision making within an interdisciplinary and inter-sectoral care context.
- Describe the role of ethics in healing and health promotion initiatives that involve research, program development and evaluation and community organizing/policy advocacy
- Demonstrates a professional presence with confidence, honesty, integrity, and respect in all interactions.
Prior Learning Assessment & Recognition (PLAR)
None
Hours
Lecture, Online, Seminar, Tutorial: 30
Total Hours: 30
Total Hours: 30
Instructional Strategies
This course is delivered through lectures, small and large group discussions/exercises and reflective exercises. Students engage in reflexive dialogue and praxis with peers and interdisciplinary community partners. Active participation is a foundation of professional practice, critical thinking and capacity building.
Grading System
Letter Grade (A-F)
Passing grade
60%
Evaluation Plan
|
Type |
Percentage |
Assessment activity |
|
Midterm Exam |
30 |
|
|
Final Exam |
30 |
|
|
Project |
30 |
|
|
Participation |
10 |
|
Course topics
- Introduction to Health Care Ethics and Ethical Decision Making Contemporary Notions of Nursing Ethics Moral Distress and Agency in Practice Ethical Decision-Making Frameworks/Processes Moral Agency in Practice: Advocating for Safe, Equitable and Just Health Care and Social Policies Moral Agency in Practice: Social Justice Ethical Issues in Data Collection within Population Health Promotion/Prevention Work Moral Communities of Practice
Notes:
- Course contents and descriptions, offerings and schedules are subject to change without notice.
- Students are required to follow all College policies including ones that govern their educational experience at VCC. Policies are available on the VCC website at:
https://www.vcc.ca/about/governance--policies/policies/. - To find out if there are existing transfer agreements for this course, visit the BC Transfer Guide at https://www.bctransferguide.ca.