Universitat Internacional de Catalunya
Applied Bioethics
Other languages of instruction: Catalan, English
If the student is enrolled for the English track then classes for that subject will be taught in the same language.
Teaching staff
Introduction
Biotechnological advances have opened new scenarios for professionals in Biosciences and have raised great expectations and concrete improvements for life and the future of mankind. However, it is also common that ethical and anthropological issues emerge both in scientific research and clinical practice that unambiguously demonstrate the need for a steady relationship and integration between technical reason and ethical reason so that the acquisition of new knowledge is addressed to achieve and do what is best for man.
Life and human nature appear as too complex realities to be examined thoroughly from a unique perspective; a multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary approach such as that of Bioethics is therefore indispensable. Bioethics is a reflection on human life and its relationship to good health, and on the principles which should guide the actions of Biosciences professionals in the development of their particular job. A competent professional, technical and scientific training is not enough to properly exercise the profession unless it includes the ethical aspect .
The Bioethics subject aims to provide the dentist with knowledge and specific training which enable and help him or her not just to take the best decisions in situations considered extreme, but also to know how to act in different situations that arise in everyday clinical practice.
Pre-course requirements
Basic knowledge of philosophical anthropology and ethics
Objectives
1. Recognize the ethical issues that arise in professional practice, and identify apparent conflicts and the ethical values at stake.
2. Acquire knowledge that enables students to analyze and define the ethical aspects of practice.
3. Acquire practical competences to integrate these dimensions in a constant process of decision making.
4. Know the rights of the individual as a human being and as a patient, in order to respect and detect eventual infringements that may appear in practice.
5. Know the main rules governing care procedures and labor regulations applied to professional skills.
Competences/Learning outcomes of the degree programme
- 08 - Knowing how to share information with other healthcare professionals and how to work as part of a team.
- 20 - Obtaining and creating a medical record containing all the relevant information.
- 53 - Knowing the legislational and administrative ethical and deontological precepts which regulate the dental profession and its application in clinical management and practice, as well as the organisation, competences and functions of professional corporations. Filling in all types of medical and legal documents and records
- 56 - Identifying the signs and behaviour which suggest potential abuse
Learning outcomes of the subject
1. Be able to properly integrate scientific ethical, and professional values.
2. Acquire the ability to adapt to different situations in the dentistry practice.
3. Develop the capacity for analysis and synthesis.
4. Discover the need to work in a multidisciplinary team.
5. Acquire the ability to apply ethical knowledge to practice.
6. Recognize his or her own limitations and the need to maintain and update professional competence, with a particular emphasis on autonomous learning of new knowledge and skills and motivation for quality.
Syllabus
I. FUNDAMENTAL BIOETHICS
1. Origin and Development of Bioethics
1.1 Introduction
1.2. A Brief Historical Overview
1.3. Definition of Bioethics
1.4. Founding Models in Bioethics
2. Foundations of Bioethics
2.1. Need for Ethics in Human Life
2.2. Key Ethical Concepts in Bioethics
2.3. Dentist-Patient Relationships
3. Methodological Principles of Ethical Decisions
3.1. Ethical Components of Human Acts
3.2. Analysis of the Moral Decision of the Health Professional
3.3. Stages in the Decision Making Process
3.4. Application to Healthcare Practice
4. Research Ethics
II . APPLIED BIOETHICS
1. The Beginning of Life
1.1. Human Sexuality
1.2. Procreation and Reproduction
1.3. Genetic Manipulation and Embryo Experimentation
2. Bioethics and End of Human Life.
2.1. Palliative Care
2.2. Death Diagnosis
2.3. Euthanasia and Health Professionals
III . BIOETHICS AND DENTISTRY
1. Ethics and Medical Records: Collection, Custody and Use of Data
2. Informed Consent (IC) in Research
3. Professional Secrecy
4. Legal Accountability. Insurances
5. Ethics Committees
6. Limits in Dental Procedures: Treatments
7. Ethical-Deontological Codes
Teaching and learning activities
In person
1. Lecture: presentation of the contents of the program.
2. Study and resolution of cases.
3. Performing practices: critical reading of texts, audiovisual (individual and group presentations).
4. Implementation of a project: teamwork. Cooperative practices among peers.
5. Documents review: books, essays, articles, texts
6. Academic tutoring.
Evaluation systems and criteria
In person
- Attendance, exercises in class, case study analyses and practices: 40%
- Final exam: 60%
For these percentages to be applied, the student must score a minimum of 5 in each item
Pass mark of the subject is 5.
Cheating, forgery, impersonation or fraud in individual or team written assignments, in classes attendance, in written or oral examinations is a major offense that carries being considered immediately failed in the subject. In case of relapse, disciplinary proceedings will be open against the author / s. View : DISCIPLINARY PROCEEDINGS OF UNIVERSITAT INTERNACIONAL DE CATALUNYA. CHAPTER I. DISCIPLINARY OFFENSES. Section 2. g ) h )
Bibliography and resources
Books in English are in bold
HANDBOOKS
POLAINO, A, 2000, Manual de Bioética General, Madrid: Rialp
CICCONE, L, 2005, Bioética. Historia.Principios. Cuestiones, Madrid: Palabra
MONGE, M, 2014, Ethics in Medical Practice, Malaki city: Sinag-Tala
MANERO, E; TOMAS, GM, 2008, Diccionario de Bioética para estudiantes, Santa Ana: Formación Alcalá, S.L.
SIMON, C, 2006, Diccionario de Bioética, Burgos: Monte Carmelo
REFERENCE:
GONZÁLEZ, AM; POSTIGO, E; AULESTIARTE, S (ed), 2000, Vivir y morir con dignidad: temas fundamentales de bioética en una sociedad plural, Pamplona: EUNSA
ABEL, F, 2001, Bioética: orígenes, presente y futuro, Madrid: Institut Borja de Bioética-Fundación Mapfre Medicina
ALBURQUERQUE, E, 1992, Bioética, una apuesta por la vida, Madrid: Editorial CCS
ANDORNO, R, Bioética y dignidad de la persona, Madrid, Tecnos,1998.
ANDORNO, R, 2013, Principles of international biolaw. Seeking common ground at the intersection of bioethics and human rights, Brussels: Bruylant
ASHLEY, BM; O'ROURKE, KD, 2002, Ethics of Health care, An Introductory Textbook (3rd ed.), Georgetown University Press: Washington DC
BEAUCHAMPS, TL, CHILDRESS, FJ, 2026 (9th ed.), Principles of Biomedical Ethics, Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press
BLAZQUEZ, N, 2000, Bioética: La nueva ciencia de la vida, Madrid: BAC
D'AGOSTINO, F, 2003, Bioética: estudios de Filosofía del Derecho, Madrid: EIUNSA
DEL BARCO, JL, 1998, Bioética de la persona: fundamentos éticos y antropológicos. Santa Fe de Bogotá: Universidad de la Sabana
ESPEJO MD, CASTILLA, A, 2021 (2nd ed.), Bioética en las Ciencias de la Salud, Granada: Asociación Alcalá
GRACIA, D, 2008 (2nd ed.), Fundamentos de Bioética, Madrid: Triacastela
GRACIA, D, 2019, Bioética mínima, Madrid: Triacastela
LOPEZ MORATALLA, N (ed.), 1987, Deontología biológica, Pamplona: Fac. de Ciencias de la Universidad de Navarra
LÓPEZ MORATALLA, N, 2021, Bioética desde la corporalidad, Pamplona: EUNSA
LEÓN SANZ, P (ed.), 2004, La implantación de los derechos del paciente: comentarios a la Ley 41-2002. Pamplona: EUNSA
PASTOR, LM; FERRER, M (eds.), 2001, La bioética en el milenio biotecnológico (Congreso Nacional de Bioética), Murcia: Sociedad Murciana de Bioética
POISSON, JF, 2009, Bioética ¿El hombre contra el hombre?, Madrid: Rialp
ROQUÉ, MV, 2013, El sentido del morir en el vivir, Cizur Menor: Thomson Reuters-Aranzadi
RULE, JT; VEATCH, RM, 2004 (2nd ed.), Ethical Questions in Dentistry, Chicago: Quintessence
SGRECCIA, E, 2022, Personalist Bioethics. Foundations and Applications, Philadelphia: National Catholic Bioethics Center
VILA-CORO, MD, 2003, La Bioética en la encrucijada. Sexualidad. Aborto y Eutanasia, Madrid: Dykinson
WEBPAGES:
- Bioethicsline www.bioethics.Georgetown.edu/bioline.htm
- Euroethics www.gwdg.de/-uelsner/entrez/.fcgi
- World Medical Association www.wma.net
- Canadian Bioethics Society www.bioethics.ca/english
- European Association of Centers of Medical Ethics: https://eacmeweb.com/
- European Bioethical Research: www.bioethics.org.uk
- Asociación Española de Bioética y Etica médica: www.aebioetica.org
- Bioética y Derecho. Universidad de Barcelona: www.Ub.es/fildt/bioetica.htm
- Centro de Documentación de Bioética del departamento de Humanidades Biomédicas: http://www.unav.es/cdb
- Observatorio de Bioética de Valencia: www.observatoriobioetica.com
Evaluation period
- E1 18/05/2026 I3 08:00h
- E1 18/05/2026 I1 08:00h
- E1 18/05/2026 I2 08:00h
- E1 18/05/2026 A01 08:00h
- R1 29/05/2026 A03 10:00h
- E2 15/06/2026 A14 15:00h
- E2 15/06/2026 A15 15:00h
- R2 26/06/2026 A01 10:00h