Ethics in educational programmes
Ethical dilemmas and value conflicts arise every day, in every workplace. Uppsala University is providing skills for future professionals by integrating ethics into the syllabus for several education programmes.
Integrating ethics education
Ethical and legal aspects have been an integrated part of the training for medical doctors, nurses and midwives. However ethical issues arise in other parts of health care, in schools and in the use and development of technology. We are responsible for the ethics training in several programmes at Uppsala University.
Undergraduate programmes
Medicine programme
The medical doctor's programme provides students with tools for ethical analysis, training on ethical theories, and professional and ethical responsibility. Students learn to manage ethical dilemmas in relation to infectious diseases, obstetrics/gynecology, pediatrics, organ donation, emergency care, child and adolescent psychiatry, euthanasia, impaired decision-making competency, withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment and priority-setting in health care.
Nursing programme
Ethics is an important part of the providing of good nursing care and ethical competence is crucial in a nurse’s practice. The nursing programme equips students with the tools required to identify moral dilemmas and to reflect on the values involved and how they should be weighed. Students are also trained to actively take part in moral deliberations.
Engineering programme in molecular biotechnology engineering
The engineering programme in molecular biotechnology provides knowledge on how biological systems and analysis of biological data can be used to develop new products, like medicines, foods and fuels. Students also learn about engineering ethics, ethics of technology and risk, environmental ethics, and how to perform ethical analysis.
Teacher education in natural sciences and biology
The teacher's training for natural sciences and biology provides the required training to teach specific subjects, but also tools to handle the ethical dilemmas and value conflicts that arise in chemistry, physics and biology. The training covers research ethics, environmental ethics, and risk ethics.
Teaching for graduate students
Master's programme in public health
The master's programme in public health provides a broad base of knowledge in prevention, life-style related health problems, epidemiology, health care management, health promotion, management and ethics. The programme also covers public health ethics, normative ethics, ethical analysis, global justice, priority-setting, gender in public health, environmental public health ethics, health promotion, risk ethics and vaccination ethics. The course on public health ethics is also available as an electable 'freestanding' course.
Midwifery programme
The midwifery programme is open to registered nurses. It is a licenced profession, with its own code of ethics. Students are trained in reproductive health, management of healthy pregnancies, delivery, and post-partum care. The training covers professional ethics, abortion ethics, the ethics of pre-natal diagnostics and more.
Specialist nurse programme
Uppsala University offers training for specialist nurses in ambulance care, anesthesiology care, diabetes care, primary care (district nurse), intensive care, emergency care, oncology care, surgical care, theatre care, and health care for children and youth.
Master's programme in infection biology
The master's programme in infection biology provides knowledge about how viruses, bacteria, parasites and fungi evolve, spread and interact, from the molecular to the global level. The students receive training that can contribute to the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of infections, and how to monitor and stop local and global epidemics. The programme also covers vaccination ethics.
Master's programmes in forensic science, molecular medicine, precision medicine and innovative medicine
Master students in forensic science, molecular medicine, precision medicine and innovative medicine programmes take a joint course in medical genetics, that covers both research ethics and risk ethics.
For PhD students
We provide mandatory research ethics training for PhD students in medicine, pharmacy, science and technology, and teach for other disciplinary domains. We also provide training in popular science writing and communication for doctoral students in medicine and pharmacy.
For staff
Knowledge about regulatory frameworks and guidelines is key for science and research of good quality. We have developed training modules that are available for staff at Uppsala University.
Our teaching philosophy
Good education rests on a solid foundation of research. Good teaching begins in the teacher's own knowledge and competence. Questions are at the core of training and education, with examination becoming an integrated part of learning.
Ethics for master level
The Centre offers three master level courses for 7,5 credits each at the Department of Public Health and Caring Sciences, covering neuroethics, ethics and public health & ethics in research, writing and communication.
