Treating Children and Vulnerable Adults module (LW50115)

You will develop skills to analyse legal challenges affecting children and vulnerable adults in healthcare contexts.

Learn to discuss and write about laws, tests, and issues like organ donation, competence, and treatment. Discuss moral dilemmas through the written and presented application of key legal principles, and gain a deeper knowledge of principles applied to emotive situations involving these groups.

What you will learn

In this module you will:

• develop skills to analyse legal challenges involving children and vulnerable adults in healthcare contexts
• learn to discuss and write about applicable laws and tests for various scenarios
• understand organ donation, competence, capacity and treatment laws
• become familiar with Law Commission Reports, Hansard Debates and Bills presented to Parliament
• examine definitions for diagnosing/treating vulnerable adults per current legislation

By the end of this module, you will be able to:

• have a deep understanding of the principles to be applied to children and vulnerable adults
• analyse legal dilemmas faced by children and vulnerable adults, from the context of what is expected from a healthcare professional
• confidently write about the laws and tests to be applied in reported cases

Assignments / assessment

• coursework (100%)

Module has 6 components:

1. Competence and Competency Testing 
2. Treating Vulnerable Adults  
3. Treating Children 
4. Organ Donation and the Incompetent Patient 
5. Vulnerable adults and children as research subjects 
6. Treating the mentally ill

An understanding of each is checked using a formative or summative assignment that is either an online test or a piece of written work.

This module does not have a final exam.

Teaching methods / timetable

• guided independent study