Main Content
Syllabus
NURS 458: Ethical Challenges in Health Care Informatics [3 SH (3,0)]: A case-based collaboratory designed for the exploration and analysis of the ethical dilemmas facing health care informatics practitioners.
Key to Semester Hour Designation: 3 SH (3,0) = 3 Semester Hours
3 semester hours in lecture, 0 semester hours in lab/clinical
Each semester hour in lecture = 50 minutes contact
Each semester hour in lab/clinical = 3 hours (or 180 minutes) contact
Therefore, this 3-credit course would meet for three (3) 50-minute lecture periods and zero (0) hours of clinical hours per week over a semester.
In general, you should plan on spending 9-12 hours per week on the course. For a more detailed look at what each lesson entails, as well as due dates for assignments and activities, see the Course Schedule.
Overview
This course is designed to explore the technological impacts creating the ethical dilemmas facing health care practitioners today. A case-based "collaboratory" is the primary learning strategy designed to foster understanding and facilitate deliberation over ethical issues. The collaboratory consists of faculty from multiple campuses, ethicists, and enrolled students interacting asynchronously to develop and apply appropriate ethical frameworks for the challenging health care informatics cases. This approach empowers the student's ability to deliberate over ethical issues. The course is appropriate for physicians, nurses, health care administrators, health care information systems officers, health care information system developers, and anyone else with an interest in the ethical issues in health care informatics.
As we followed the actual events or were entertained by the movie Apollo 13, we all watched the astronauts trying against all odds to bring their crippled spaceship back to earth. The speed of their travel was incomprehensible to most of us, and the task of bringing that spaceship back to earth seemed nearly impossible. They were experiencing a crisis never imagined by the experts at NASA; and they were making up their survival plan moment by moment. What brought them back to earth safely? Surely we must give credit to the technology and the space ship's ability to withstand the trauma it experienced. But what amazed us most were the traditional non-technological tools, skills, and supplies that were used in new and different ways to stabilize the spacecraft's environment and keep the astronauts safe while traveling toward their uncertain future.
This sense of constancy in the midst of change serves to stabilize our experience in many different life events and contributes to our survival of crisis and change. This rhythmic process is also vital to the health care system's stability and survival in the presence of the rapidly changing events of the Information Age.
Nobody can dispute the fact that the Information Age is changing health care in ways that will not be fully recognized and understood for years. The change is paradigmatic and every expert who addresses this change reminds health care professionals of the need to "go with the flow" of rapid change or be left behind.
As with any paradigm shift, a new way of viewing the world brings with it some of the enduring values of the previous worldview. As health care journeys into the brave new world of digital communications, it will bring along some familiar tools and skills recognized in the form of values, such as privacy, confidentiality, autonomy, and non-maleficence. While these basic values remain unchanged, the standards for living out these values will take on new meaning as health professionals are confronted with new and different moral dilemmas. Ethical decision-making frameworks will remain constant, but the context for examining these moral issues will become increasingly complex.
Our syllabus will provide you with some familiar ethical concepts to take with you on your challenging journey into the increasingly complex future of health care informatics. We will briefly define ethics and bioethics and examine the evolution of ethical approaches from the "Hippocratic ethic" era through "principlism" and to the current "anti-principlism" movement of ethical decision making. We encourage you to read more about these approaches as you review the cases presented in this course and as you journey further into the unfolding era of health care informatics.
Topical Outline
- Exploration of Ethical Frameworks
- Ethical Decision Making
- Professional Ethics, Codes of Conduct, and Standards of Care
- Advocacy as a Professional Responsibility
- Information Security and Intellectual Property
- Privacy Rights and Confidentiality
- Social Implications: Autonomy, Access, and Responsibility
- Technologies in Health Care informatics
- Computer-Based Medical Records
- Telehealth
- Decision Support Technology
- Bio-Informatics
- Global Electronic Health Care Data Sharing
- Collaborative Case Analyses and Application of Ethical Frameworks
Course Objectives
Upon completion of this course you will be able to do the following:
- Explore models for ethics decision making and professional codes of conduct including advocacy and confidentiality.
- Identify and evaluate professional responsibilities for ethical use of health care informatics technology.
- Demonstrate critical thinking and intellectual responsibility.
- Examine the ethical implications of global health care informatics.
- Recognize ethical issues in health care informatics.
- Apply the concepts and theories of ethical analysis to ethical dilemmas in health care informatics.
- Synthesize an ethical framework for dealing with selected health care informatics dilemmas.
- Analyze practical ways of managing ethical problems in health care informatics.
- Work responsibly and effectively with teams and individuals.
- Demonstrate the ability to analyze problems, propose solutions, and make responsible decisions by the means of critical thinking and moral reasoning.
Evaluation Methods (Dependent on Site)
Evaluation methods may include quizzes, examinations, written assignments, simulations, reflective journaling, care planning, and mid-course and final clinical performance evaluations.
Required Course Materials
For pricing and ordering information, please see the Barnes & Noble College website.
Materials will be available at Barnes & Noble College approximately three weeks before the course begins. It is very important that you purchase the correct materials. If your course requires one or more textbooks, you must have exactly the correct text required (edition and year).
Note: Course textbook (required and recommended) selections are dependent on program faculty and campus site. The College of Nursing uses the current APA criteria for all written assignments. The APA is listed as an optional material for purchase. Recommended APA formatting resources are available in the course for reference.
Many of the University Libraries resources can be utilized from a distance. Through the Libraries website, you can
- access magazine, journal, and newspaper articles online using library databases;
- borrow materials and have them delivered to your doorstep—or even your desktop;
- get research help via email, chat, or phone using the Ask a Librarian service; and
- much more.
You must have an active Penn State Access Account to take full advantage of the Libraries' resources and service. The Off-Campus Users page has additional information about these free services.
Technical Requirements
| Operating System | Canvas, Penn State's Learning Management System (LMS), supports most recent versions of Microsoft Windows and Apple Mac operating systems. To determine if your operating system is supported, please review Canvas' computer specifications. |
|---|---|
| Browser | Canvas supports the last two versions of every major browser release. It is highly recommended that you update to the newest version of whatever browser you are using. Note: Cookies must be enabled, and pop-up blockers should be configured to permit new windows from Penn State websites. |
| Additional Canvas Requirements | For a list of software, hardware, and computer settings specifically required by the Canvas LMS, please review Canvas' computer specifications. |
| Additional Software | All Penn State students have access to Microsoft Office 365, including Microsoft Office applications such as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. |
| Hardware | Monitor: Monitor capable of at least 1024 x 768 resolution |
| Mobile Device (optional) | The Canvas mobile app is available for versions of iOS and Android. To determine if your device is capable of using the Canvas Mobile App, please review the Canvas Mobile App Requirements. |
Student Education Experience Questionnaire (SEEQ)
During the semester you will receive information for completing the Student Education Experience Questionnaire (SEEQ). Your participation is an opportunity to provide anonymous feedback on your learning experience. Your feedback is important because it allows us to understand your experience in this course and make changes to improve the learning experiences of future students. Please monitor email and course communications for links and availability dates.
Additional Software
One of the benefits of being a registered Penn State student is that you are eligible to receive educational discounts on many software titles. If you are interested in learning more about purchasing software through our affiliate vendor, please visit the Buying Software section of the Course Materials page.
Technical Support
If you need technical assistance at any point during the course, please contact the Service Desk.
For registration, advising, disability services, help with materials, exams, general problem solving, visit World Campus Student Services!
Recommendations
When you embark on an online learning journey, you can typically begin wherever you want and progress in whatever fashion you choose. However, it has been our experience that learners would like some direction in getting started since it is easy to become overwhelmed with the amount of material available for the course. Please follow the Course Schedule below in order to complete your work and submit your assignments on time. Remember to visit the main discussion forum at least once a week. This is your forum to post questions and discuss course related matters with your peers and instructor. Remember, this is a course-related forum, not a place to chitchat (there's a Cyber Cafe for those situations)! This is also a place where your instructor will place comments and tips.
Course Requirements and Grading
Evaluation will be based on individual performance. The learner must submit the selected assignments that include the ability to analyze and synthesize case analyses done collaboratively by the experts participating in the course collaboratory.
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Percentage
|
||
|---|---|---|
|
1
| Overview Questions |
10%
|
|
2
| HITECH Act and HIPAA Part 1: Questions and discussion (30 points) Part 2: NIH Privacy Awareness Course (10 points) |
10%
|
|
3
| Comprehensive Ethical Decision Making Case Analysis and Presentation (Part 1) |
10%
|
|
4
| Compare and contrast your case analysis with the expert analyses (Part 1) |
10%
|
|
5
| Comprehensive Ethical Decision Making Case Analysis and Presentation (Part 2) |
15%
|
|
6
| Compare and contrast your case analysis with the expert analyses (Part 2) |
15%
|
|
7
| Own case scenario |
25%
|
|
8
| Reflective Essay |
5%
|
| Total possible points |
100%
|
|
Grading Requirement
Students must achieve a letter grade of C or better (based on the College of Nursing grading scale) in both theory and clinical components of all nursing courses in order to pass the course and progress in the nursing program.
A student must achieve a minimal final course grade of [75% for UG and 83% for Grad] for successful completion of the course. Each individual examination score is reported to the hundredth place, e.g. 92.76 and not rounded up. Only the final course grade will be rounded up. A final course grade of X.50 will be rounded to the next highest whole number (example 72.50 = 73). A final course grade of X .49 would not round up (example 72.49 = 72).
|
Letter Grade
|
Percentage
|
|---|---|
|
A
|
94%
|
|
A-
|
90%
|
|
B+
|
87%
|
|
B
|
83%
|
|
B-
|
80%
|
|
C+
|
77%
|
|
C
|
75%
|
|
D
|
68%
|
|
F
|
< 68%
|
Academic Progression Policy
The Academic Progression policy delineates the academic standards for pre-licensure students (students without a RN license), who are admitted to the undergraduate nursing program. The policy states that all prerequisite courses may be repeated only one time and failure of two required nursing courses will result in dismissal from the nursing major. Read the details of the Academic Progression Policy in the RN to BSN handbook.
If, for reasons beyond the student's control, a student is prevented from completing a course within the prescribed time, the grade in that course may be deferred with the concurrence of the instructor. The symbol DF appears on the student's transcript until the course has been completed. Non-emergency permission for filing a deferred grade must be requested by the student before the beginning of the final examination period. In an emergency situation, an instructor can approve a deferred grade after the final exam period has started. Under emergency conditions during which the instructor is unavailable, authorization is required from one of the following: the dean of the college in which the candidate is enrolled; the executive director of the Division of Undergraduate Studies if the student is enrolled in that division or is a provisional student; or the campus chancellor of the student's associated Penn State campus.
For additional information please refer to the Deferring a Grade page.
Please refer to the University Grading Policy for Undergraduate Courses for additional information about University grading policies.
Assignment Policies
- Assignments and course discussions all have a due date for submission to the course instructor. The due dates for each are noted in the Course Schedule section of this syllabus, below. Please make every effort to submit assignments on time, or notify the instructor in advance of a late assignment. Late assignments will be penalized with a 10% grade deduction for each day late unless you have made prior arrangements with the instructor. Deadlines will be defined as 11:55 p.m. Eastern Time on the last day of the lesson timeframe, unless noted differently.
- If you know you will be offline the day an assignment is due, please make sure to post it early. Anytime you feel that you might be falling behind in the course, it is best to contact the instructor to discuss your situation. No assignments can be accepted after 11:55 p.m. Eastern Time on the final day of class. If you have an assignment completed by the deadline but are unable to submit to the drop box or post in the forum for technical reasons, contact the IT Service Desk. However, you must submit or post the assignment in the drop box or forum once that becomes available to receive your grade and feedback for the assignment.
- The College of Nursing uses the current APA Manual criteria for all written assignments.
- The articles that you are required to find for any assignments must be cited and must be current, meaning within the last five years.
- For activities where a written document is needed, you are required to use Microsoft Word to complete your activity. Once you have uploaded your file to an activity, it is a good idea to click the link to the file to make certain that it is viewable or accessible for downloading. For lengthy discussion posts, it is recommended that you draft your post using Notepad (PC) or TextEdit (Mac) and then copy and paste the information into your discussion. That way you will have a copy saved on your computer should anything go wrong!
- You will receive assignment grades and feedback privately within the specific assignment drop box or discussion forum. You can always check your grades through the Grades link on the left menu or through the gradebook on the Reports link.
- Please keep a copy of ALL your work. We cannot assume responsibility for lost items.
Make-up Exams
Make-up exams are only given for exceptional circumstances in nursing courses that have exams. Since exam dates are already specified in the syllabus, it is expected that students will adjust any scheduling issues they have to accommodate taking the exam. Recognizing, however, that one cannot plan to avoid or reschedule sickness, a family death, or a few other limited circumstances, make-up exams will be given at the discretion of the instructor. Make-up exams must be completed within one week of the missed event. The student must contact the instructor directly by phone or in person to make arrangements prior to the regularly scheduled exam period. The make-up exam will be equivalent in content covered and level of difficulty; however, the instructor reserves the right to alter the format of the make-up exam, i.e., to include short answers or essay questions. If a student should miss a schedule make-up exam, the student will receive a zero for the test. [Undergraduate Affairs Committee Approval--Fall 2011]
Course Schedule
- Spring and Fall Semesters: 16 weeks
- Summer Semester: 13 weeks
- Accelerated Format: 7.5 weeks
Note: If you are planning to graduate this semester, please communicate your intent to graduate to your instructor. This will alert your instructor to the need to submit your final grade in time to meet the published graduation deadlines. For more information about graduation policies and deadlines, please go to the Graduation Information on the My Penn State Online Student Portal.
| Lesson | Activity |
|---|---|
| Getting Started |
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Assignment 1: |
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| Assignment 2: HITECH Act and HIPAA |
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Assignment 3: |
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| Assignment 4: Ethics Case, Part 1 - Compare and Contrast |
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| Assignment 5: Ethics Case, Part 2 - Analysis |
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| Assignment 6: Ethics Case, Part 2 - Compare and Contrast |
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| Assignment 7: Own Case Scenario and Analysis |
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Assignment 8: Reflective Summary Course Wrap-Up |
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Academic Integrity
Academic integrity is the pursuit of scholarly activity free from fraud and deceptions and is an educational objective of this institution. Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to:
- cheating,
- plagiarizing,
- fabricating of information or citations,
- facilitating acts of academic dishonesty by others,
- having unauthorized possession of examinations,
- making copies in any manner of exams or papers,
- submitting work of another person or work previously used without informing the instructor, and
- tampering with the academic work of other students.
At the beginning of each course, it is the responsibility of the instructor to provide a statement clarifying the application of academic integrity criteria to that course. A student charged with academic dishonesty will be given oral or written notice of the charge by the instructor. If students believe they have been falsely accused, they should seek redress through normal discussion with the instructor, department head, dean, or campus executive officer. If the instructor believes that the infraction is sufficiently serious to warrant referral of the case to the Office of Student Accountability and Conflict Response, or if the instructor will award a final grade of “F” in the course because of the infraction, the student and instructor will be afforded formal due process (review Academic Integrity information, policy, and procedure on the College of Nursing website).
How Academic Integrity Violations Are Handled
In cases where academic integrity is questioned, procedure requires an instructor to notify a student of suspected dishonesty before filing a charge and recommended sanction with the college. Procedures allow a student to accept or contest a charge. If a student chooses to contest a charge, the case will then be managed by the respective college or campus Academic Integrity Committee. If a disciplinary sanction also is recommended, the case will be referred to the Office of Student Accountability and Conflict Response..
All Penn State colleges abide by this Penn State policy, but review procedures may vary by college when academic dishonesty is suspected. Information about Penn State's academic integrity policy and college review procedures is included in the information that students receive upon enrolling in a course. To obtain that information in advance of enrolling in a course, please contact us.
Additionally, World Campus students are expected to act with civility and personal integrity; respect other students' dignity, rights, and property; and help create and maintain an environment in which all can succeed through the fruits of their own efforts. An environment of academic integrity is requisite to respect for oneself and others, as well as a civil community.
For More Information on Academic Integrity at Penn State
Please see the Academic Integrity Chart for specific college contact information or visit one of the following URLs:
- Penn State Academic Integrity site
- Penn State Senate Policy on Academic Integrity
- Turnitin (a web-based plagiarism detection and prevention system)
Course Policies
Registration Status
All students in "Registration Not Complete" status must resolve issues before the first day of clinical or before the 10th day after classes begin, whichever comes first. Students who do not complete registration will not be able to remain in nursing clinical courses. University policy on completing registration can be found at the Office of the University Registrar.
Attendance, Student Responsibilities, and Conduct
- Attendance and participation in all scheduled classes is expected and will be monitored. Excessive absence can seriously affect a student's success in passing this course.
-
If an evaluative event (exam, quiz, presentation or other form of assessment for grading) will be missed due to an unavoidable absence, the student must contact the instructor prior to the scheduled evaluative event.
- If the student does not contact the course coordinator/instructor prior to the evaluative event, it will be considered an unexcused absence and an opportunity to take a make-up exam will not be offered.
- Students will be held responsible for using only legitimate, unavoidable reasons for requesting a make-up in the event of a missed class or evaluative event. Requests for missing class or an evaluative event due to reasons that are based on false claims may be considered violations of the policy on Academic Integrity.
- Students are responsible for keeping track of changes in the course syllabus made by the instructor throughout the semester.
- Students are responsible for monitoring their grades.
- If extra credit assignments are offered, they must be offered to all students and should not be used to boost the grade of an individual student.
- Behaviors that disrupt other students' learning are not acceptable and will be addressed by the instructor.
- For severe and chronic problems with student disruptive behavior, please refer to Penn State Student Affairs Conduct Information for Faculty and Staff web site.
- Students are responsible for following appropriate netiquette (network etiquette) when communicating with their instructor and classmates. Pursuing a degree online has its challenges! We've created a series of tips and strategies to help you achieve your academic goals.
Additional Course Policies
For information about additional policies regarding Penn State Access Accounts; credit by examination; course tuition, fees, and refund schedules; and drops and withdrawals, please see the World Campus Student Center website.
Disclaimer: Please note that the specifics of this Course Syllabus are subject to change, and you will be responsible for abiding by any such changes. Your instructor will notify you of any changes.
Senate approval: 2003
Revised: 2007, Fall 2008, Fall 2011