Medical Ethics

Activities

1. Animal Ethics

  (estimated time: 60 minutes)

This activity is adapted from the animal ethics workshop at the SPU
Xenotransplatation conference (Feb. 2002).
Students are asked to explore their own views on use of animals, comparing
organ sources with food and other medical uses. The ethical issues are
identified, and then specific questions answered with reference to these.

Teacher Notes and Student Sheets (, 12 KB)

2. Clinical trials of new medicines

  (estimated time: 45 minutes)

Why do researchers need to randomise the treatment and control groups when they are testing a new treatment? Can't they just give the treatment and see if people get better? This activity deals with the above questions, and includes a data handling activity on how scientists find out whether a treatment really works.

Teacher Notes and Students Sheets (, 43 KB)

3. Drug Development

  (estimated time: 60 minutes)

Students order the phases of development of a new drug, and use discussion in groups to produce the correct sequence. This activity could follow on from a brain-storming of what the necessary procedures and regulatory bodies should be. The questions at the end could be set as a homework, but would benefit from discussion of some of these issues during the lesson.

Teacher Notes and Student sheets (, 23 KB)

4. Ethics of Drug Trialling

  (estimated time: 60 minutes)

This activity involves reading an article from New Scientist, and this could be done prior to the lesson. Students are asked to classify some of the arguments for and against paying volunteers for drug trials, and it is suggested that discussions in groups then feed into a whole class discussion.

Teacher Notes and Student Sheets (, 13 KB)

5. Is Xenotransplantation Ethically Acceptable?

  (estimated time: 60 minutes)

This activity introduces 4 case studies that highlight some of the ethical issues involved in xenotransplantation. The students discuss these in groups and try to reach a decision, using ethical principles.

Teacher Notes and Student Sheets (, 23 KB)

6. ISCI - Sex in the the Age of Mechanical Reproduction

Set up as (semi-)rehearsed reading, this exercise avoids many of the technical difficulties involved in role play while still encouraging the students to explore the motivation of those involved in a scientific development and its subequent (ethical) technical use.

Teacher Notes (, 20 KB)

7. Ante-natal screening: What, How and Why?

There is a lot of confusion about the different antenatal screening tests available and what they can achieve. This cut and paste activity aims to help students clarify their knowledge before considering the ethical issues around the use of such screening.

Exercise (, 41 KB)

8. Argument - Genetic testing and screening

  (estimated time: 20 minutes)

This activity allows students to practice a simple paired debate, paying attention to the quality of the argument they employ and developing effective criticism of an alternative argument.

Teachers notes (, 103 KB)

9. Argument - Using animals to test medicines

  (estimated time: 20 minutes)

This activity introduces the basic structure of an argument. This is then extended to consider unspoken assumptions linking evidence and claim. The activity allows criticism of some simple arguments for or against the use of animals to test medicines.

Teacher notes and student sheets (, 116 KB)