Medical Ethics Syllabus Fall 2023

New York University Tandon School of
Engineering
Department of Technology Culture and Society
Course Outline STS 2214-A Medical Ethics
Fall 2023
Professor Silberman
Tuesdays, 2:00-4:40 pm,
To contact professor: jhs610@nyu.edu

Dibner Building, [Room LC130B
Phone: (240) 2773461
Office hours: by appointment
Course Pre-requisites
Completion of first year writing requirements
Course Description
This course examines the events and issues defining the practice of medicine and the
associated larger field known as bioethics. Lectures, readings and discussions follow the
history of events leading to the American Medical Association's Code of Conduct beginning
with the Hippocratic Oath and continuing through defining events including Eugenics,
Nuremberg War Trials, Tuskegee experiments, Baby M, first heart transplant, and CRISPR,
Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindrone Repeats issues organ transplantations, and
medical tourism to name the most salient issues covered. This course also illustrates the
tensions arising between physician paternalism, duties of non-maleficence, and patient
autonomy. We also cover medical ethics surrounding reproductive medicine including
surrogacy, cloning and human enhancement.
The course also covers the ethical issues surrounding, end-of-life issues, and allocation of
scarce medical resources. We will examine recent issues concerning the pharmaceutical
industry (Big Pharma) and future drug availability. Recent forays into precision medicine
including the human genome--topics of current interes,t will be analyzed. Finally, the course
examines current bioethics' research, and issues related to the history of quarantine including
its evolution to past and current pandemics such as Covid-19, Ebola and Zika.
Course Objectives
Students will accomplish and understand:
1. The ethical responsibilities of healthcare professionals;

2. Application of ethical theories using utilitarianism and ethical duties;
3. Professional codes of conduct for healthcare professionals;
4. Major defining examples of medicine's evolution to encompass medical ethics;
5. Political, social, and economic bases relating to sound medical practice;
6. Emerging bioethical issues occasioned by technologies associated with the human
genome, enhanced human performance, implants, and autonomous robotics.
Course Structure
This course is structured between lectures, discussion, selected student presentations, course
readings and case studies. There is a midterm, reading and writing assignments, selected
student presentations and a final exam. Reading and writing assignments will be announced
throughout the course.
Readings
Most case examples will be drawn from the text, "Bioethics, An Anthology," second
edition, Helga Kuhse and Peter Singer.
Student written assignments to be posted as directed. Articles of interest will be posted

and students will be encouraged to share recent media articles or op-eds as part of each
class.
Course requirements
Class attendance and posted readings are mandatory as is the midterm and final, class
presentations as directed, and written assignments throughout the semester.
Both exams consist of a combination of multiple choice questions, short fill-in

questions, and short essays, typically a few sentences or a paragraph response.
The mid-term exam will constitute 25% of the final grade. Written assignments and class
participation count for 25%. The final exam is weighted at 50% of the final grade.
Academic Integrity
Incidents of academic dishonesty, like plagiarism, will be reprimanded. The

NYU Tandon School of Engineering code of conduct will be applicable.
Academic integrity occupies the very center of the educational enterprise. NYU Tandon
School of Engineering encourages academic excellence in an environment promoting,
honesty, integrity, and fairness, All members of the NYU Tandon community are expected
to exercise honesty and integrity in their academic work and interaction with members of
the NYU community. Each member of this community shares the responsibility for
securing and respecting an environment conducive to academic integrity. Academic
dishonesty will not be tolerated, and persons who breach academic integrity will be
sanctioned in accordance with NYU’s policy on Academic Dishonesty.
The faculty assumes that theses, term papers, results of laboratory experiments and
examinations submitted by students represent their own work. The presentation for academic
credit of the same work in more than one course is prohibited unless a joint project receives
express and prior permission from the instructors involved in it. The following explanations
clarify these points for all students:
3.3.1 all sources of assistance, published or unpublished are to be acknowledged in every

piece of writing or oral presentation.
3.3.2 Students using, receiving or providing unauthorized assistance from notes or from other
students during examination are in violation of academic regulations and are subject to
academic discipline.
3.3.3 Although students may be permitted or required to cooperate with one or more fellow
students where laboratory experiments are required, many of these experiments must be done
independently; all require some independent work. Submitting the work of others as one’s
own, or accepting unauthorized assistance in experiments, constitutes academic dishonesty.
Statement on Disability: If you are a student with a disability who is requesting

accommodations, please contact New York University's Moses Center for Students with
Disabilities at 212 998-4980 or mosescsd@nyu.edu. You must be registered with CSD to
receive accommodations. Information concerning the Moses Center can be found at
www.nyu.edu/csd. The Moses Center is located at 726 Broadway, second floor.
Part 1: Overview of Medical Ethics and Background

9/5, 2023
• Introduction/Overview of broad history of medical ethics, Analysis of the development of
triage and differentiations between civilian and military settings.
Case Studies Analysis and l) Practical Applications

Origins of Medical Responsibility From the Hippocratic Oath to Modern
Medical Education, Reflection and Analysis Professional Medical Codes
DNA CRISPR and Genetic Engineering (Part 1)
9/12, 2023
Eugenics, Continuation of CRISPR Part II, and Preparation for next pandemic, lessons learned
from Covid-19.
9/19,
Source of pandemic outbreaks, ancestry, consent form language,
9/26,
Herd Immunity, Anthroponitic Spillover, Medical Tourism
10/3, 2023
Virus Hybrids, Personal Enhancement, “Super Soldiers”

Organ Transplantation, Midterm exam review,
10/10, 2023, Fall Break, no class
10/17, 2023, Midterm Exam

10/24, 2023
Midterm exam discussion, Psychiatric Disorders, Mental Health Stigma, Covert Medications,
Advance Directives, Ulysses Contracts;
10/31, 2023,
Written Assignment no live synchronous lecture, assignment due prior to next class, 11/7, 2023
11/7, 2023,
AI and Medical Ethics, Rise of Machines, ChatGBT
11/14, 2023
Addiction, Legal Responsibility, Neuroscience Issues, Roper Rule, fMRI Ethical Issues, Cruzan
and Quinlan Case Studies;
11/21, 2023, Fall Break (Thanksgiving Week)
11/28, 2023
Intellectual Property and Medical Ethics, Patent, Copyright, Trade Secrets;
12/5, 2023
Patients As Art and Review For Final
12/12, 2023
Reading Day, No in-class lecture,
12/18, 2023 Final Exam Week Begins

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New York University Tandon School of

To contact professor: jhs610@nyu.edu

Students will accomplish and understand:

1. The ethical responsibilities of healthcare professionals;

Student written assignments to be posted as directed. Articles of interest will be posted

Both exams consist of a combination of multiple choice questions, short fill-in

Incidents of academic dishonesty, like plagiarism, will be reprimanded. The

3.3.1 all sources of assistance, published or unpublished are to be acknowledged in every

Statement on Disability: If you are a student with a disability who is requesting

Part 1: Overview of Medical Ethics and Background

Case Studies Analysis and l) Practical Applications

DNA CRISPR and Genetic Engineering (Part 1)

Source of pandemic outbreaks, ancestry, consent form language,

Herd Immunity, Anthroponitic Spillover, Medical Tourism

Virus Hybrids, Personal Enhancement, “Super Soldiers”

10/10, 2023, Fall Break, no class

10/17, 2023, Midterm Exam

11/21, 2023, Fall Break (Thanksgiving Week)

Intellectual Property and Medical Ethics, Patent, Copyright, Trade Secrets;

Patients As Art and Review For Final

Reading Day, No in-class lecture,

12/18, 2023 Final Exam Week Begins

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