Healthcare and Life Sciences Industry Ethics

As practitioners and leaders of tomorrow’s healthcare systems and bioscience industries, KGI graduates will be at the forefront in the development and application of new diagnostics, pharmaceuticals, biologics and medical devices. They will be confronted with ethical issues concerning the research, development, marketing and sale of related products. Stakeholders in the health systems and companies that KGI students will lead—including clinical trial participants, patients, partners, employees, investors, activist groups, and the media—will be paying close attention to the ethical behavior of those health systems and companies and their leaders. This course therefore explores the ethical challenges for commerce in healthcare systems and biosciences industry as it will be increasingly important for healthcare and bioscience leaders to consider the ethical ramifications of their work. The class will focus more on the practical application of ethical principles through real-world case studies, rather than emphasizing theories.

MEng program students only

Upon completion of this course, each student will be able to:

Define “ethics”;
Understand the main features of key normative ethical theories and moral principles;
Connect those theories and principles to the two primary component areas of “BioIndustry Ethics”- bioethics and business ethics;
Recognize ethical dilemmas raised by the practice and study of bioscience;
Make arguments and counterarguments about select moral dilemmas faced by the bioscience industry and its leaders;
Assess the strengths and weaknesses of his or her ethical arguments, and those of his/her classmates;
Distinguish personal from societal values;
Demonstrate an increased ability to think critically about select moral dilemmas, and make persuasive ethics arguments;
Communicate and discuss moral values respectfully and with an open mind, and acknowledge the views of those whom they disagree;
Engage in more profound and effective self-reflection and critical assessment of personal and group beliefs and values; and
Answer privately the self-inquiry: Am I an ethical person? Am I an ethical student? Am I confident that I will demonstrate, and advocate for, high ethical standards during my career as a bioscience leader?