(AMBI 605) Intercultural Bioethics: This course addresses issues in bioethics from various cultural perspectives. It examines degrees to which other cultures may view similar issues and topics as morally problematic. It also explores ways in which cultures address and resolve moral tensions. In view of the growing interest in examining bioethics within a global context, this course is especially relevant for U.S. healthcare with its patently diverse population of patients and health professionals. In healthcare, cultural world views exert a conspicuously powerful influence that challenges the universality of Western medical ethical principles. Moreover, disregarding, misinterpreting, and stereotyping other cultural health-views further sustains diminished and disparate healthcare services. Now that U.S. healthcare and regulatory measures underscore the importance of cultural competence, there is an explicit need to enhance cultural sensitivity through appropriate knowledge, skills, and attitudes. Students are not encouraged to adopt any particular ethical position or view but rather gain an ability to review and analyze the reasons that support various norms and opinions in the new and exciting frontier of intercultural bioethics.
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