Postgraduate Diploma / MA in the

Postgraduate Diploma / MA in the

Ethics of Cancer and Palliative Care

This flexible part-time course is a collaboration between Keele University's Centre for Professional Ethics and the Marie Curie Centre in Liverpool. Designed for doctors, nurses, allied health professionals, and others with a serious interest in this field, it is a well-established and exciting course which combines academic and practical expertise.

Major advances in medical technology, increased expectations, and changing moral attitudes have combined to create many complex ethical and legal problems in cancer and palliative care. Those who care for patients with life-threatening illnesses can face particularly pressing and difficult moral choices. This course provides an opportunity to gain a deeper and more systematic understanding of these issues, and to explore the moral problems that practitioners may face in their work.

The topics covered by the course normally include: truth-telling; confidentiality; decision-making for the seriously ill patient; informed consent; consent and the law; paternalism; the nature and the role of hope in palliative care; defining death; the significance of death; the sanctity and value of life; the idea of `quality of life'; withdrawing and withholding life-prolonging treatment; advance statements about treatment (`living wills'); ethical and legal issues in euthanasia; resource allocation; research ethics; special issues relating to the care of children; screening programmes; the role of religious belief in ethical debate; differing conceptions of palliative care.

Year one consists of four modules, each of which is taught in an intensive three day teaching block. The first of these blocks is normally in January, with subsequent blocks spread throughout the academic year. Teaching takes place at the Marie Curie Centre in Liverpool.

In year two, students go on to research and write a dissertation to obtain the award of Master of Arts (MA). There are no specific attendance requirements at all during the second year - you may either meet with your supervisor at mutually convenient times, or keep in touch by phone or email, or use a combination of methods. If you successfully complete the taught modules, but do not wish to write a dissertation, you will receive a Postgraduate Diploma (PgDip).

We believe that high levels of student participation in discussion are particularly important for teaching and learning in this area, and use teaching techniques which encourage this wherever possible. Sessions are lively and interactive, and make use of a large number of case studies and examples.

For further information, please contact either: