Healthcare Ethics & Informed Consent

Bioethical principles applied to clinical practice. Covers informed consent, advance directives, conflicts of interest, end-of-life care, confidentiality, resource allocation and triage, and professional boundaries.

8 Units

Early Units (Foundation)

Building Skills

Advanced Concepts

Capstone/Synthesis

The Four Pillars: Bioethical Principles in Clinical Practice

Examines the four foundational principles of biomedical ethics and their application to clinical practice, including resolution of ethical conflicts.

20 minutes

Informed Consent: Legal Requirements and Clinical Reality

Examines informed consent requirements, capacity assessment, exceptions, and documentation standards under federal and state law.

20 minutes

Refusal of Treatment and Advance Directives

Examines the legal framework for treatment refusal, advance care planning, and surrogate decision-making including DNR/DNI orders and POLST.

20 minutes

Conflicts of Interest: From Pharmaceutical Relationships to Self-Referral

Examines conflicts of interest in healthcare, including pharmaceutical relationships, self-referral, Stark Law, and Anti-Kickback Statute compliance.

20 minutes

End-of-Life Care Ethics: From Withholding Treatment to Medical Aid in Dying

Examines end-of-life care ethics including withholding vs. withdrawing treatment, palliative sedation, medical aid in dying, and futility determinations.

20 minutes

Confidentiality and Privacy: HIPAA, Mandatory Reporting, and Ethical Boundaries

Examines confidentiality and privacy requirements under HIPAA, mandatory reporting laws, and ethical duties in complex scenarios involving minors and incapacitated adults.

20 minutes

Resource Allocation and Triage: Ethics of Scarcity in Healthcare

Examines ethical frameworks for resource allocation, triage protocols for mass casualty and pandemic events, and fairness principles in rationing decisions.

20 minutes

Professional Boundaries and Sexual Misconduct: Ethics, Law, and Enforcement

Examines professional boundaries, dual relationships, sexual misconduct, patient vulnerability, and state board enforcement of boundary violations.

20 minutes

Learning Progression

This course is designed to be taken sequentially. Earlier units establish foundational concepts that later units build upon. While you can explore units in any order, following the numbered sequence provides the most coherent learning experience.