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King's College London

Military Healthcare Ethics

King's College London via edX

Overview

What ethical dilemmas arise at the intersection of medicine and the military? How do healthcare professionals navigate conflicting responsibilities in war zones?

In this self-paced course from King’s College London, you will explore the ethical principles guiding military healthcare practice. Led by Professor Martin Bricknell, a leader in professional military medical ethics, the course examines real-life dilemmas and policy issues, including:

  • Dual loyalty to patient and military mission

  • Medical neutrality and treatment of non-combatants

  • Resource allocation and triage under operational constraints

  • Ethical issues in disaster response, pandemics, and humanitarian missions

Through global case studies and ethical frameworks, you’ll gain tools to reason through challenging medical decisions in conflict and crisis settings.

This is a short course that can be completed in 5 hours — designed to be flexible and fit into your schedule.

Syllabus

Unit 1: Ethical Foundations of Military Healthcare

Examine the principles of biomedical ethics and how they intersect with military demands.

Unit 2: Conflict and Dual Loyalty

Explore ethical conflicts between duty to patients and mission objectives.

Unit 3: Operational Medicine

Analyse ethical issues in battlefield medicine, triage, and constrained environments.

Unit 4: Global Health and wider Military Roles

Evaluate the role of the military in humanitarian and public health crises.

Unit 5: Building Ethical Practice

Reflect on frameworks and support systems for ethical decision-making in military medicine.

Taught by

Martin Bricknell

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