LLM in Medical Law and Ethics by online distance learning.
Erin Jackson: The LLM in Medical Law and Ethics is described as focusing on the important
issues affecting medicine, law and ethics.
Gerard, what would you say are these issues in today's world?
Gerard Porter: Well, medical law is an exciting and fast moving subject area, the boundaries
of medicine are constantly being shifted by advances in medical technology and this can
trigger new dilemmas for clinical practice.
In addition patient rights are increasingly taking centre stage and the daily work for
healthcare professionals is increasingly governed by laws and by ethical guidelines, so the
distance learning LLM in Medical Law and Ethics is equipped to help students navigate the
sometimes complex subject area by giving them a clear understanding of the relationship
between law, ethics and medicine.
Throughout the course we'll look at some of the key challenges faced by those working
within healthcare systems and also examine the major academic debates and look at these
in their social and historical context.
The degree programme is focused mainly on the law within the UK but we have a strong
international and comparative dimension too so we'll also look at some international frameworks
and compare approaches in different jurisdictions.
Erin Jackson: Great, thanks very much.
So who are the professionals dealing with these kind of issues for whom the programme
is designed?
Gerard Porter: Well basically the programme was designed for three categories of people.
The first category are healthcare professionals, so doctors, nurses, managerial staff and medical
research scientists.
the second category is lawyers or law graduates who are working in a specialism that deals
with medical law such as medical negligence, or perhaps working in-house for a pharmaceutical
of life science company or people who would like to move in that directions within their
career.
The third category are people who just have a strong academic interest in Law and Medical
Ethics, and they may wish to use the LLM as a springboard for further study in the form
of a PhD.
Erin Jackson: Wonderful, thank you Gerard.
So how is the programme structured to meet the particular needs of these students?
Gerard Porter: Well, the programme can be taken over one, two or three years and because
a lot of our students are working full time there is a degree of flexibility in when they
can take the particular modules.
Students are required to take six modules over the course of the programme.
Four of these must be taken from the core medical law and ethics options.
The other two can also be taken from this group but there is also flexibility, so students
can take it from other online degree programmes such as international commercial law or intellectual
property law.
Erin Jackson: And what about the colleagues who teach on the programme, what can you tell
us about them?
Gerard Porter: Well each module will be led by an academic based here at Edinburgh law
School.
All the academic staff are very enthusiastic and passionate about teaching and in addition
to giving a broad overview of the various topics there is also a focus on research-led
teaching, so the academics will encourage you to read their own particular publications
and discuss their ideas, opinions in a critical way and this makes for very interesting and
lively discussions on the online forum.
Erin Jackson: So would you agree that what we have on this programme is a real online
community of medico-legal scholarship?
Gerard Porter: Yes, absolutely.
This is one of the strong points of the course is actually our students.
We have a diverse student body, from various professional backgrounds, from various countries
around the world and from various cultures and by sharing their knowledge and comparing
their experiences and talking about the situations in their own countries this makes for a very
vibrant and rich learning environment online.
Erin Jackson: As a final question Gerard, outside of the programme and perhaps after
graduation what sort of benefits does the student experience on the eLLM in Medical
Law and Ethics bring?
Gerard Porter: Well, after graduation the student will have an internationally recognised
postgraduate degree in Medical Law and Ethics and this can bring a lot of career benefits
depending on the particular route their going for.
So, for example, healthcare professionals will have greater confidence, understanding
and knowledge of how law impacts on their work and being recognised as a specialist
within their institution can also have career development benefits for them.
Lawyers working in the fields such as medical negligence or in-house for life science companies
or pharmaceutical companies for example may find themselves more effective in these roles
and it may also be easier to move into those particular positions if that's the way they
want to take their careers and finally, those who are interested in medical law and ethics
as a more academic area may use the LLM as the basis for a PhD research and the LLM would
be a solid preparation for that.