This 3-credit Bioethics study abroad course is a collaboration between Case Western Reserve University and the University of Paris. The course includes a ten-day trip to Paris, France over Spring Break. This course offers a cross-cultural comparison of the French and American medical systems.
Students will have the unique opportunity to learn first-hand how the French medical education system is structured and how the social, cultural, and political contexts in France shape medical and ethical issues.
The trip includes guided field experiences in French clinical settings, as well as opportunities to engage with French faculty members and physicians about contemporary issues in Bioethics. Pertinent ethical issues include reproductive rights, decision making involving severely impaired newborns, withholding/withdrawing life-sustaining treatment, and issues in organ donation and transplant. The course will also emphasize the role of French culture and history.
Museum and site visits in Paris are designed to complement and offer real-life illustrations of course content.