Course Content and Outcomes Guides (CCOG)

CCOG for PHL 205 Winter 2025


Course Number:
PHL 205
Course Title:
Biomedical Ethics
Credit Hours:
4
Lecture Hours:
40
Lecture/Lab Hours:
0
Lab Hours:
0

Course Description

Promotes applying ethical concepts to biomedical situations and ethical dilemmas, including those confronted by nurses and other health care workers. Explores topics including patient rights, informed consent, end of life care, genetic engineering, and health care policy. Prerequisites: WR 115, RD 115 and MTH 20 or equivalent placement test scores. Audit available.

Intended Outcomes for the course

Upon completion of the course students should be able to:

  • Articulate key philosophical arguments in the field of biomedical ethics.
  • Identify the influence of culturally based perspectives, values and beliefs to examine how diverse philosophical perspectives affect human experience.
  • Construct arguments on issues dealing with biomedical ethics using critical reasoning to identify and investigate philosophical theses and evaluate information and its sources.
  • Respond to arguments on issues dealing with biomedical ethics using critical reasoning to identify and investigate philosophical theses and evaluate information and its sources.

Integrative Learning

Students completing an associate degree at Portland Community College will be able to reflect on one’s work or competencies to make connections between course content and lived experience.

General education philosophy statement

Philosophy courses ask students to use critical thinking and reasoning skills in multiple ways: to identify the content, structure, and influence of beliefs, to examine how diverse philosophical perspectives affect human experience, and to construct and respond to arguments on a variety of philosophical issues. They encourage students to both create and understand their and others’ frameworks of meaning, and to use this new understanding in their own lived experience.

Course Activities and Design

This course will be presented by means of lecture and discussion sessions.  Guest speakers and audio-visual presentations will be included when appropriate.

Outcome Assessment Strategies

Grades will be based on:

  • Take home and/or in-class quizzes.
  • Several short position papers or essays designed to encourage the development and presentation of the student's views on issues discussed in the course.
  • Participation in classroom discussions.