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Unit of study_
HSBH3004: Health, Ethics and the Law
2025 unit information
This unit of study introduces students to ethics and law in relation to the Australian health system. The unit takes an interdisciplinary approach to exploring fundamental ethical principles in relation to health and health services. It also provides a basic introduction to legal aspects of health and healthcare. Topics of focus include mental health, health complaints, reproductive technologies, the start and end of life, disability, public health and genetic technology. Students will develop their own ethical thinking and an understanding of professionally acceptable behaviours appropriate to practice in a wide range of disciplines and health professions, including policy and administration. Learning is interactive and scenarios are used as discussion points to develop ethical thinking. Students will develop a written or multimedia research project based on an ethical and legal issue of their choosing.
Unit details and rules
Managing faculty or University school:
Medicine and Health
| Study level | Undergraduate |
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| Academic unit | Participation Sciences |
| Credit points | 6 |
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Prerequisites:
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48 credit points of units |
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Corequisites:
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None |
| Prohibitions:
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None |
| Assumed knowledge:
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None |
At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:
- LO1. understand the sources of Australian law
- LO2. understand the part ethical decisions play in health care
- LO3. identify what constitutes an ethical or legal issue in the context of health care provision, planning, clinical application and research
- LO4. understand the key concepts in law and ethics identified in the unit lectures, workshops and readings and apply these to case studies
- LO5. effectively engage in informed discussion (both written and oral) on ethical issues arising in the health care context
- LO6. identify laws and legal frameworks applicable to health care, health promotion and health research
- LO7. produce written and oral work which reflects on the unit content through individual research and group discussion.
Unit availability
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Modes of attendance (MoA)
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