Medical Law and Ethics

Individual and population health is a matter of growing social concern. Achieving good health and delivering effective healthcare demands scientific, medical and policy innovation. A variety of fields have a role to play, including law and ethics.As a student on this programme you will examine topics that reflect some of the main contemporary legal and ethical challenges faced by those working in healthcare and health research, and place them in their social and historical context. These include issues that arise in the context of genetics, assisted reproduction, abortion, standards of medical treatment, transplantation medicine, mental health, advance decisions, assisted suicide, health research, and the allocation of scarce resources.We offer you the opportunity to study the fundamentals of medical law and ethics, both international and domestic, at an advanced level, and the opportunity to take more specialised courses on issues of contemporary significance, encouraging and supporting the development of research skills necessary for a career in medical law or ethics.The legal and ethical experts who deliver this programme come from a wide range of disciplines from across the University, and they benefit from a close association with the J Kenyon Mason Institute for Medicine, Life Sciences and Law.

International students arriving in Edinburgh can access various help and assistance to integrate with their new community. This starts at the International Student Centre where advice and assistance is available with fees and finance as well as legal matters such as immigration advice and visas. There is also a number of events organised by the ISC including weekly themed nights representing different countries and subsidized trips around the country. There are also campus wide events such as International Evening and the International Desserts Night to help students bring their own culture to others. The Edinburgh University Students Association (EUSA) is the combination of the unions and the Student Representative Council and has buildings around the campus including Teviot Row House, Potterrow, Kings Buildings House and the Pleasance. Teviot Row House has claims as the oldest purpose built student union building in the world. EUSA is responsible for some 250 societies for students to become involved with outside the classroom. Edinburgh itself is an important centre for the performing arts, particularly comedy, amateur and fringe theatre and numerous groups within the university are involved in this area. The Theatre Company was founded in 1896 and the Drama Society runs Bedlam Theatre, the oldest student run theatre in the UK. There is a weekly newspaper produced by students along with an independent publication and an alternative music radio station. In sports, there are 67 clubs ranging from rugby and football to judo and gliding.