Medical Ethics Certificate

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Program: Certificate
College of Arts and Sciences

Liberal Arts Building 17 ~ 260-481-6971

Program Coordinator: Abe Schwab

A certificate in Medical Ethics is available to all Purdue University Fort Wayne students earning undergraduate degrees. Students who have a baccalaureate degree can pursue this certificate and must be formally admitted to Purdue University Fort Wayne. The multidisciplinary program provides basic academic courses on health care system, aging, as well as applied ethics courses. A practicum component involves applied work in health care setting.

The Medical Ethics Certificate is comprised of 18 credits. The required introductory courses provide a foundation for understanding the workings of the health care system and ethical issues that arise. Additional credits are chosen by the student from a variety of disciplinary courses relevant to the ethics of the health care system. The final requirement is a practicum that ideally will involve applied work in a health care setting. The certificate can be earned and awarded independent of other degree(s).

Student Learning Outcomes:
Upon completion of this certificate, students will:

demonstrate understanding of the foundational features of the existing health care system
demonstrate awareness of the ethical issues that frame conversations when medical decisions need to be made
demonstrate the ethical issues specific to their particular interests (e.g., Nursing, Dentistry, etc.)

Declaring this Certificate:

Declare this certificate through the Medical Ethics Program Director, or through your major department if you are pursuing another degree.
Your program of study must be approved by the Medical Ethics Certificate Program Director. It is highly recommended that you meet with the Program Director when declaring the program.

Program Requirements:

Meet all regular Purdue Fort Wayne admission requirements
A minimum GPA of 2.00 or higher is required for graduation
A grade of C- or higher in each course required for the certificate
At least 9 credits must be earned as resident credit

To earn the Certificate in Medical Ethics, you must fulfill the following requirements in addition to those noted above:

Required Courses: Credits 6

No more than four PHIL courses (including the PHIL 49300 practicum) can be used to fulfill requirements for the Certificate in Medical Ethics.

PHIL 31200 - Medical Ethics Cr. 3.
PPOL 32000 - Health Systems Administration Cr. 3.

Ethics Requirement: Credits 3

Choose one of the following courses:

PHIL 11100 - Introduction To Ethics Cr. 3.
PHIL 32900 - Foundations of Professional Ethics Cr 3.
Foundations of Professional Ethics - May only be used as either the “Ethical” requirement or the “Medical/Legal” requirement, but not for both.
PHIL 50400 - Human Rights Ethics Cr. 3.

Medical/Legal Requirement: Credits 6

Choose two of the following courses:

PHIL 26000 - Philosophy and Law Cr. 3.
PHIL 32900 - Foundations of Professional Ethics Cr 3.
Foundations of Professional Ethics - May only be used as either the “Ethical” requirement or the “Medical/Legal” requirement, but not for both.
PPOL 12000 - Contemporary Health Issues Cr. 1-3.
HSRV 16900 - Introduction to Wellness and Stress Management Cr. 3.
MUSC 34001 - Music Therapy in Healthcare Settings Cr. 3.

Practicum: Credit 1-3

PHIL 49300 - Interdisciplinary Undergraduate Seminar Cr. 1-3.
PHIL 49300 will be overseen by the certificate program director.
- A typical one-hour project would be a short case analysis in the student’s area of interest.
- A typical three-hour project would involve an internship with an appropriate organization and a written report submitted about the experience and the ethical issues that arose.

Total credits: 18

Student Responsibility

You are responsible for satisfying the graduation requirements specified for your selected program. Thus, it is essential that you develop a thorough understanding of the required courses, academic policies and procedures governing your academic career. All requests for exceptions to specific requirements must be made in writing and may be granted only by written approval from the appropriate chair or dean.