RCSI - MUB launches new master programme in health care ethics and law

The programme is aimed at providing these professionals with an opportunity to gain a deeper and more systematic understanding of ethical and legal issues in those fields; to explore the moral problems which they face in their work; to recognize issues raising potential legal liability and to understand health care practice in its legal and social context.

In his comments on the launch of the new course, Professor David Whitford, Associate Professor of Family Medicine RCSI-MUB and the programme director, said, "The need for a greater understanding of health care ethics and law by doctors, nurses, healthcare professionals, managers and lawyers has been recognized by leading experts in the healthcare community."

"Although healthcare professionals are repeatedly faced with ethical problems in the course of their normal working times, these issues have often been tackled briefly during early training. Now there is a demand from patients that these areas are given more attention. This course has been specially designed to meet this need."

This Programme is a part time course taken over two years and taught through a series of six week long modules each year. The first module has been completed with success by a group of students from different specialties.

According to Professor Whitford, the first module of the course was found to be exciting and challenging by the students who attended it. He explained, "They found the training of philosophy ethics and law to be a new and worthwhile experience. The teaching format used common problems encountered by health care workers in their daily routine to provoke discussions and illustrate many of the ethical arguments."

The team of lecturers conducting the course is a mix of local lecturers and foreign experts brought in from abroad to enlighten the students with their expertise in the area of ethics and law.

The first module was an introduction to the different ethical theories and to the regulations put in place by the Ministry of Health in Bahrain.

Professor Whitford concluded by saying, "The next module is due to start on 13th April 2008. Due to the heavy demand for this course, we would consider offering a few more placements to applicants able to attend the next module commencing on the 13th April."