ISD II – Neurology

Ethics/Humanities/Health Law

 

Short Paper Topics

 

1. Read and/or watch Awakenings.  What is your reaction to it? (“You didn’t awake a thing, you awoke a person.”)  How does it portray medicine?  What ethical issues are raised? 

Note:  The movie Awakenings is based on a book by Oliver Sacks, on whom the Robin Williams character is based.  The book has been placed on reserve in the Health Sciences Library.   The movie should be available at most video stores.

 

2. Suppose Robert Wendland was in a minimally conscious state, as his wife maintained.  From an ethical point of view, should his wife’s desire to remove her husband’s feeding and hydration tube be obeyed?  What further information would be helpful in making such a decision?  What general lessons does Wendland’s case hold?

 

You may also write on a topic of your own choosing provided it deals with Ethics/Humanities/Health Law issues connected with neurology.  Please see either John Crellin or Andrew Latus to discuss a topic.