Students

LAWS5071 – Health Law and Ethics

2022 – Session 2, In person-scheduled-weekday, North Ryde

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff Convenor
George Tomossy
george.tomossy@mq.edu.au
Contact via iLearn
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
80cp in LAW or LAWS units including (LAWS3000 or LAW314) and (LAWS2500 or LAWS217 or LAW317) and (LAWS2400 or LAW203)
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description

This unit introduces students to health law and ethics in Australia. Duties, obligations and responsibilities that arise in the context of the health practitioner-patient relationship will be examined, as well as areas of health law that pose ethical and/or regulatory challenges. These include:legal concepts and areas of law integral to health care treatment (capacity and consent; negligence and criminal law; management of health care information); applied health law and ethics (mental illness and disability; preconception, conception and birth; end of life; human tissues); and broader systemic regulation of health care (regulation of health care practitioners; public health; research involving humans). Contemporary issues will be explored to examine interrelationships between health law, policy, ethics, regulation, human rights and social justice.

Important Academic Dates

Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  • ULO1: Critically analyse the fundamental doctrines, concepts, principles, values and sources of regulation, relevant to health law.
  • ULO2: Analyse how health law and ethics may impact upon practice and/or research.
  • ULO3: Integrate and synthesise knowledge from a range of multi- disciplinary sources to generate appropriate responses to health related problems that raise ethical, social, legal and/or human rights issues.
  • ULO4: Communicate effectively with legal and non-legal audiences in relation to health related matters that raise ethical, social, legal and/or human rights issues.

General Assessment Information

Please note that, consistent with the Faculty of Arts Late Assessment Submission Penalty Policy (see below), no late submissions will be accepted for timed assessments – e.g. quizzes, online tests. The 7-day late submission period under the policy applies only to the Expert Submission (Task 3) written assessment task.

Please also note that students who fail to submit an Expert Submission (Task 3) will be precluded from making an Expert Appearance (Task 4), resulting in a grade of zero for both assessments.

Word limits will be strictly applied and work above the word limit will not be graded.  Footnotes and bibliographies are not included in word counts; however, footnotes are primarily to be used for referencing.

Assessments must be submitted in the format prescribed in detailed instructions provided on the unit iLean page. All assessments in the unit are to be submitted electronically via Turnitin. Plagiarism detection software is used in this unit.

All assessments must be appropriately referenced, applying the Australian Guide to Legal Citation (4th ed). 

Further instructions and marking rubrics for each of the assessments in the Unit will be provided on the unit's iLearn page. 

Late Assessment Submission Penalty (Faculty of Arts) 

Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, a 5% penalty (of the total possible mark) will be applied each day a written assessment is not submitted, up until the 7th day (including weekends). After the 7th day, a mark of ‘0’ (zero) will be awarded even if the assessment is submitted. Submission time for all written assessments is set at 11.55pm. A 1-hour grace period is provided to students who experience a technical issue.    

This late penalty will apply to non-timed sensitive assessment (incl essays, reports, posters, portfolios, journals, recordings etc). Late submission of time sensitive tasks (such as tests/exams, performance assessments/presentations, scheduled practical assessments/labs etc) will only be addressed by the unit convenor in a Special consideration application. Special Consideration outcome may result in a new question or topic.

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Class Participation 10% No In Tutorials (Weeks 3-12)
Online Quiz 25% No Quiz1 - 05/09/2022 23:55; Quiz2 - 31/10/2022 23:55
Expert Submission 40% No 31/10/2022 23:55
Expert Appearance 25% No Examination Period (7-25 Nov 2022)

Class Participation

Assessment Type 1: Participatory task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 8 hours
Due: In Tutorials (Weeks 3-12)
Weighting: 10%

 

Discussion questions related to prescribed readings are provided in advance of tutorials. Student understanding of core concepts and their application to contemporary problems in Australian health law will be assessed based on their verbal responses to these questions during the tutorial (class participation). Each student will be rostered in advance to lead discussion for specific tutorials topics, allowing them to prepare content and reflect on tutorial questions in advance. Students are not expected to provide ongoing contributions every week for the entire semester; they are assessed only on the basis of substantive contributions made to class discussion during the tutorials on which they have been rostered.

Students who are unable to contribute on their rostered date/time due to illness or misadventure, with special consideration, will be provided an opportunity to roster on an alternate day or asked to provide supplementary written work in lieu to demonstrate their learning.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Critically analyse the fundamental doctrines, concepts, principles, values and sources of regulation, relevant to health law.
  • Analyse how health law and ethics may impact upon practice and/or research.
  • Integrate and synthesise knowledge from a range of multi- disciplinary sources to generate appropriate responses to health related problems that raise ethical, social, legal and/or human rights issues.
  • Communicate effectively with legal and non-legal audiences in relation to health related matters that raise ethical, social, legal and/or human rights issues.

Online Quiz

Assessment Type 1: Quiz/Test
Indicative Time on Task 2: 15 hours
Due: Quiz1 - 05/09/2022 23:55; Quiz2 - 31/10/2022 23:55
Weighting: 25%

 

Consists of two online timed quizzes to assess understanding of subject matter covered in prescribed readings.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Critically analyse the fundamental doctrines, concepts, principles, values and sources of regulation, relevant to health law.

Expert Submission

Assessment Type 1: Report
Indicative Time on Task 2: 60 hours
Due: 31/10/2022 23:55
Weighting: 40%

 

Students will provide a 3000-word submission (plus a one-page executive summary) to a mock Parliamentary Inquiry .

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Critically analyse the fundamental doctrines, concepts, principles, values and sources of regulation, relevant to health law.
  • Analyse how health law and ethics may impact upon practice and/or research.
  • Integrate and synthesise knowledge from a range of multi- disciplinary sources to generate appropriate responses to health related problems that raise ethical, social, legal and/or human rights issues.
  • Communicate effectively with legal and non-legal audiences in relation to health related matters that raise ethical, social, legal and/or human rights issues.

Expert Appearance

Assessment Type 1: Viva/oral examination
Indicative Time on Task 2: 15 hours
Due: Examination Period (7-25 Nov 2022)
Weighting: 25%

 

Each student will appear in a fifteen minute solo in-camera expert witness appearance before the Committee Chair of a mock Parliamentary Inquiry, responding to questions and providing verbal clarification of arguments presented in their written Expert Submissions.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Critically analyse the fundamental doctrines, concepts, principles, values and sources of regulation, relevant to health law.
  • Analyse how health law and ethics may impact upon practice and/or research.
  • Integrate and synthesise knowledge from a range of multi- disciplinary sources to generate appropriate responses to health related problems that raise ethical, social, legal and/or human rights issues.
  • Communicate effectively with legal and non-legal audiences in relation to health related matters that raise ethical, social, legal and/or human rights issues.

1 If you need help with your assignment, please contact:

  • the academic teaching staff in your unit for guidance in understanding or completing this type of assessment
  • the Writing Centre for academic skills support.

2 Indicative time-on-task is an estimate of the time required for completion of the assessment task and is subject to individual variation

Delivery and Resources

All Lectures for this unit are pre-recorded and can be accessed via the unit iLearn page.

Tutorials will be conducted face-to-face and/or online (via Zoom), commence in Week 1 and conclude in Week 12. Students should consult the official Timetable for class times, dates and locations (if face-to-face) and mode of delivery at a specified time at: http://timetables.mq.edu.au  Instructions for online tutorials via Zoom will be provided on the unit's iLearn page.

Online content for this unit can be accessed at http://ilearn.mq.edu.au

Computer and stable Internet access are required in order to successfully complete this unit. Basic computer skills (e.g., internet browsing) and skills in word processing are also a requirement. All written assessments are to be submitted electronically via Turnitin.

PRESCRIBED MATERIALS 

The required textbook for this unit is:

(1) Anne-Maree Farrell, John Devereux, Isabel Karpin and Penelope Weller, Health Law: Frameworks and Context (Cambridge University Press, 2017).

(2) Any further readings will be identified on the unit's iLearn page.

Unit Schedule

Week

Topic

1.

Introduction to Health Law and Ethics

2.

Right to Health

3.

The Therapeutic Relationship

4.

Consent to Treatment

5.

Law at the End of Life

6.

Health Governance

7

Public Health Law and Ethics

8.

Health Information, Privacy and Confidentiality

9.

Law and the Human Body

10.

Law at the Beginning of Life

11.

Mental Health Law

12.

Linkages: Determinants, Rights and Governance

Policies and Procedures

Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

Students seeking more policy resources can visit Student Policies (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/policies). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.

To find other policies relating to Teaching and Learning, visit Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au) and use the search tool.

Student Code of Conduct

Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/admin/other-resources/student-conduct

Results

Results published on platform other than eStudent, (eg. iLearn, Coursera etc.) or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit ask.mq.edu.au or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au

Academic Integrity

At Macquarie, we believe academic integrity – honesty, respect, trust, responsibility, fairness and courage – is at the core of learning, teaching and research. We recognise that meeting the expectations required to complete your assessments can be challenging. So, we offer you a range of resources and services to help you reach your potential, including free online writing and maths support, academic skills development and wellbeing consultations.

Student Support

Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/

The Writing Centre

The Writing Centre provides resources to develop your English language proficiency, academic writing, and communication skills.

The Library provides online and face to face support to help you find and use relevant information resources. 

Student Services and Support

Macquarie University offers a range of Student Support Services including:

Student Enquiries

Got a question? Ask us via AskMQ, or contact Service Connect.

IT Help

For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/. 

When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.

Changes from Previous Offering

Weighting of assessment tasks have been adjusted since this unit was last offered:

  • Class Participation reduced to 10% (from 15%); and
  • Expert Appearance increased to 25% (from 20%).

Unit information based on version 2022.02 of the Handbook