Essential Topics in Clinical Ethics (ETCE) –
September 2025

Course Structure

The series consists of four units. Participants may choose to attend one or more units.

Unit 1: Ethical reasoning, ethical guidance & relationship with professionals

02 September 2025, 2pm to 5pm

Learning objective:

To understand principle-based approaches to ethical issues in healthcare practice.

Topics covered:

  • Approaches to moral reasoning
  • Relationship between moral, ethical, legal and professional responsibilities
  • Professional codes of ethics and guidance documents
  • Relationship between law and ethics and process at ethics
  • Resources for understanding & interpreting cultural and faith communities

Target audience:

Healthcare professionals and clinical ethics committee (CEC) members, who are new to or would like to refresh their knowledge and understanding of ethical reasoning, ethical guidance and relationship with professionals.

Date and Time:

02 September 2025, 2 to 5pm
09 September 2025, 2 to 5pm
16 September 2025, 2 to 5pm
23 September 2025, 2 to 5pm

Venue:

Blended (Synchronous Online Sessions + Asynchronous e-Learning)

Mode:

Short online video lectures and synchronous facilitated case discussions online via Zoom. The short online video lectures may be viewed in a 2-week window before the synchronous case discussions

Registration Fee:

There is no registration fee for this course

Registration:

By invitation only

Unit 2: Elements of decision-making (Part 1): autonomy, informed consent, truth telling, decision-making capacity and best interests

09 September 2025, 2pm to 5pm

Learning objective:

To understand some of the common ethical and legal issues faced by healthcare professionals regarding patient autonomy, informed consent, truth telling, decision-making and best interests.

Topics covered:

  • Autonomy, informed consent and refusal
  • Disclosure, medical errors and truth telling
  • Proxy decision-making, substituted judgment and best interests
  • Decision-making capacity

Target audience:

Healthcare professionals and clinical ethics committee (CEC) members, who are new to or would like to refresh their knowledge and understanding of autonomy, informed consent, truth telling, decision-making and best interests.

Unit 3: Elements of decision-making (Part 2): shared decision-making, end of life decision-making, advance care planning and non-beneficial treatment

16 September 2025, 2pm to 5pm

Learning objective:

To understand some of the common ethical and legal issues faced by healthcare professionals, regarding shared decision-making, end of life decision-making, advance care planning and non-beneficial treatment.

Topics covered:

  • Advance care planning
  • End of life decision-making
  • Shared decision making
  • Potentially inappropriate treatment / futility
  • Treatment goals and the related plan of care

Target audience:

Healthcare professionals and clinical ethics committee (CEC) members, who are new to or would like to refresh their knowledge and understanding of shared decision-making, end of life decision-making, advance care planning and non-beneficial treatment.

Unit 4: Health law, defensive medicine and therapeutic innovations

23 September 2025, 2pm to 5pm

Learning objective:

To understand relevant health law and some of the common ethical and legal issues faced by healthcare professionals regarding defensive medicine and therapeutic innovations.

Topics covered:

  • Relevant health law
  • Confidentiality and privacy
  • Distinctions between clinical research and therapeutic innovation
  • Defensive medicine

Target audience:

Healthcare professionals and clinical ethics committee (CEC) members, who are new to or would like to refresh their knowledge and understanding of health law, defensive medicine and therapeutic innovations.

Educators

The workshop is led by the following educators.

Assoc. Prof
Chan Mei Yoke

Adjunct Associate Professor, CBmE
National University of Singapore

Assoc. Prof
Michael Dunn

Associate Professor, CBmE
National University of Singapore

Assoc. Prof Brian D. Earp

Associate Professor, CBmE
National University of Singapore

Dr Sumytra Menon

Director, CBmE
National University of Singapore

Bryson Ng

Research Associate, CBmE
National University of Singapore

Asst. Prof
Owen Schaefer

Assistant Professor, CBmE
National University of Singapore

Mathavi Senguttuvan

Research Associate, CBmE
National University of Singapore

Dr Shizuko Takahashi

Research Fellow, CBmE
National University of Singapore
Obstetrician, Gynaecologist, and Clinical Geneticist (Japan)

Continuing Professional Education

CME/CPE points have been sought for doctors, pharmacists and nurses.
Topics Doctors Nurses Pharmacists
MME CME Non-Core CME CPE CPE
Unit 1: Ethical reasoning, ethical guidance & relationship with professionals 2 0 2 2
Unit 2: Autonomy, informed consent, truth telling, decision-making capacity and best interests 2 0 2 2
Unit 3: Shared decision-making, end of life decision-making, advance care planning and non-beneficial treatment 2 0 2 2
Unit 4: Health law, defensive medicine and therapeutic innovations 0 2 2 2

Past Workshops

2025

2024

2023

2022 – 2023