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Exploring Bioethics - NIH Office of Science Education - National ...

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Table 3. Ethical Issues and Curricular ConnectionsModule Ethical Issues* Curricular Connections1. <strong>Bioethics</strong> Conceptsand SkillsThis module introduces a problem-solvingapproach that students can use when facedwith ethical decisions. It includes answeringfour key questions and paying attentionto core ethical considerations (respect forpersons, harms and benefits, and fairness).Each student uses these questionsand considerations to develop a wellreasonedjustification about the ethics <strong>of</strong>enhancement in sports. Extension opportunitiespromote discussion <strong>of</strong> other kinds<strong>of</strong> enhancements in cognitive and artisticperformance. This module should be taughtfirst because it introduces a method <strong>of</strong>bioethical inquiry that will be applied to allthe other topics.••Nature <strong>of</strong> science (empiricism)Steroids and hormones2. Balancing Individualand CommunityClaims: EstablishingState VaccinationPolicies3. Allocating ScarceResources: The Case <strong>of</strong>Organ Transplantation4. Weighing Benefits andHarms: Ethical Issuesin Genetic TestingModule 2 emphasizes the core ethicalconsiderations <strong>of</strong> respect for personsand fairness, and students wrestle withthe tension between individual freedomand community well-being. Each studentmust determine, and justify, how he or shewould balance individual and communityclaims about a hypothetical communitycontroversy involving mandatory schoolvaccination policies.After briefly exploring a range <strong>of</strong> historicalcases in which decisions had to be madeabout the allocation <strong>of</strong> a scarce biomedicaltechnology, students focus on the task <strong>of</strong>fairly distributing organs that are in shortsupply. With the consideration <strong>of</strong> fairnessin mind, each student must take a fullyjustified stance about what he or she seesas the fairest distribution policy.Students consider respect for personsand recognize and weigh all harms andbenefits in order to make a fully justifiedrecommendation about genetic testingfor a teenage member <strong>of</strong> a hypotheticalfamily. Because some <strong>of</strong> the genetic testsare predictive rather than diagnostic, eachstudent also grapples with how best toproceed given the inherent uncertainty <strong>of</strong>the situation.••••••••••••••••••••Community (herd) immunityEpidemicInformation about specific diseasesInterpreting dataNature <strong>of</strong> infectious diseaseVaccines: impacts, benefits, and risksVaccines and immunologic memoryViruses and bacteriaImmunology: factors that determinewhether an organ is a good matchLiver: function, reasons for failure, transplantstatisticsOrgan systemsTransplant basics: which organs or tissuescan get transplanted? What factorsensure a better outcome?Alzheimer’s diseaseCancer biologyDNA: structure and mutationsGenetic testing: predictive vs. diagnosticMendelian genetics: recessivevs. dominantMutations: inherited vs. somaticPedigree interpretationRelationship among genes, proteins,and traitsContinued22 <strong>Exploring</strong> <strong>Bioethics</strong>

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