COVID-19 Curriculum
  • Medical Student COVID-19 Curriculum
  • Curriculum Overview
    • Cases
    • One-Page Summaries
  • About Us
  • Translations
    • Currently Available Languages
      • Amharic
      • Arabic
      • Chichewa
      • Chinese
      • Farsi
      • French
      • Georgian
      • German
      • Greek
      • Guinea Bissau - Creole
      • Indonesian
      • Italian
      • Japanese
      • Kinyarwanda
      • Krio
      • Nepali
      • Portuguese
      • Romanian
      • Russian
      • Serbian
      • Spanish
      • Swahili
      • Tamil
      • Thai
      • Tumbuka
      • Turkish
      • Urdu
      • Vietnamese
  • Module 1: From Bench to Bedside
    • Basic Virology and Immunology
    • Diagnosis of COVID-19
    • Management of COVID-19
    • Investigational Therapeutics & Vaccine Development
    • Graphic Summary & Concept Videos
  • Module 2: Epidemiology Principles
    • Introduction to Epidemiological Terms
    • Where Are We Now?
    • Where Will We Be Next?
    • Approaches to Long-Term Planning
    • Case Study: 1918 Influenza Pandemic
    • Case Study: 2009 H1N1 Pandemic
    • Case Study: South Korea 2020
    • Graphic Summary
  • Module 3: Health Disparities, Policy Changes, and Socioeconomic Effects in the U.S.
    • Social-Ecological Model for Understanding Differential Impact of COVID-19
    • Health Disparities in COVID Outcomes
    • COVID-19 among Populations in Correctional Facilities
    • Overview of U.S. Health Policy Responses to COVID-19
    • United States Federal Health Policy Response Details
    • State Responses to COVID-19: Selected Case Studies
    • Implications for the Healthcare System Beyond COVID-19 Patients
    • Socioeconomic Ramifications in the United States
    • Summary
  • Module 4: Mental Health in the Time of COVID-19
    • The Biopsychosocial Framework
    • Special Considerations for At-Risk Populations
    • Evolving Clinical Practices in Mental Healthcare
    • Summary
  • Module 5: Communicating Information about COVID-19
    • Skillset Review
    • Science Communication and Misinformation
    • Advance Care Planning
    • Cultural Humility & Meeting People Where They Are
    • Sustaining Constructive Behaviors Over Time
    • Activity: Putting it to Practice
    • Summary
  • Module 6: Training for Potential Clinical Roles
    • Current Medical Student Involvement
    • Personal Protective Equipment
    • Telehealth
    • Being Mindfully Hygienic
    • Triage
    • Mechanical Ventilation: The Basics
    • Care for Self and Others During Crisis
    • Summary
  • Module 7: Global Innovation and Collaboration
    • Staff
    • Stuff
    • Space
    • Systems
      • Risk Communication Strategies
      • Effective Vaccination Protocols
    • Refugee and Migrant Health Case Study
  • Module 8: Medical Ethics in Relation to COVID-19
    • Overview of U.S. Medical Ethics
    • Principles of Allocation
    • Resource Distribution
    • Vulnerable Populations
    • Commitment of Healthcare Professionals and Trainees During Crisis
    • Clinical Trials, Research, and Treatments
    • Public Health
    • Summary
  • COVID-19 Student Response Website
  • Podcast: Antiviral
Powered by GitBook
On this page
  • Cases
  • Final Thoughts

Was this helpful?

  1. Module 8: Medical Ethics in Relation to COVID-19

Summary

Cases

The situation around the world evolves rapidly. For individuals like Brian and Diane, the ethical questions and challenges are different and constantly change. For instance, given her older age and general condition, Diane worries that she will not have access to a ventilator if she needs one. Brian wonders if the government is ethically justified in imposing strict public health measures. Both understand how ethically complex many decisions around COVID-19 are and empathize with physicians and policymakers who grapple with these decisions daily. As the disease continues to spread, they wonder whether their perspectives will need to change and realize that the field of ethics constantly evolves based on context.

Diane is afraid about what will happen if she tests positive for COVID-19. Given her age and other health conditions, would she not receive a ventilator over someone younger and healthier? What ethical frameworks to approach resource allocation could be used, especially during a public health crisis?

Brian has many friends and family with pre-existing health conditions. In addition, as part of his community service work in college, he visited a prison and worked on a literacy project. He remembers one prisoner in particular named Dan. Dan was in his mid-20s and suffered from type I diabetes. Brian wonders how this pandemic affects Dan and his ability to obtain his medications.

Diane's daughter is a respiratory therapist at a New York hospital now recommending that its healthcare workers wear their face mask for one week at a time. Her daughter wants to "do the right thing" but is nervous she will not see Diane for months. Diane wonders how many other healthcare workers are in similar situations, and what the "right thing" to do is.

Brian thinks back to his canceled trip and plans for after graduation. While he understands the importance of social distancing, he is unsure whether the government is ethically justified to impose such stringent public health measures. What are the ethical considerations in the field of public health, especially as they relate to infectious disease outbreaks?

Final Thoughts

We hope this module helped capture the ethical complexity of COVID-19. We recognize this module’s bias towards U.S. biomedical ethics and are working on additional supplemental materials that include additional frameworks prevalent throughout the world. Nonetheless, we think many of the ethical questions are universal, and we encourage you to think closely about the presented themes as the pandemic evolves.

We welcome your feedback on this module and on the curriculum overall. Please share it here.

PreviousPublic HealthNextPodcast: Antiviral

Last updated 5 years ago

Was this helpful?