Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Case analysis in ethics instruction: bootlegging theory in a topical structure

  • Published:
Theoretical Medicine and Bioethics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Robert Veatch was a notable and prolific author in a variety of areas in philosophy, health care practice, and policy. However, it is evident by the sheer number of case study in ethics books, eighteen editions of case collections in all, that this approach to teaching ethics in the health sciences was especially important to him. A few of these case study collections he wrote alone, but the majority were written with co-authors from nursing, dentistry, pharmacy, allied health, and medicine, drawing on their respective areas of disciplinary expertise and experience as educators. The aim of this article is to focus on the pedagogy and framework Veatch developed to expose students to the rudiments of philosophical ethics so they could understand the conflicts between values, principles, and ethical theories. Authentic clinical cases, he believed, were a useful way to engage students. Putting the two ideas together, Veatch argued the best method of structuring cases is “bootlegging theory in a topical structure” (Veatch, Robert M., Case analysis in ethics instruction. In: Amy Haddad (ed) Teaching and learning strategies in pharmacy ethics, Creighton University, Omaha, 85–97, 1992). Veatch’s rationale for this carefully planned systematic arrangement between case topics and philosophical ethics content are presented. The influence and input of co-authors from different disciplines are explored regarding case development and commentary content. Finally, the impact of these interdisciplinary case study textbooks on ethics instruction in the health sciences is evaluated.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. The specific focus of this article will be on the ethics case study books Veatch authored or co-authored that were categorized as books in which case studies and commentaries are the central focus of the book. Although ethics cases often appear in or are referred to in other books that Veatch edited, authored, or co-authored, the case study books herein are those that use cases as the primary means to analyze ethical issues. The eight different books comprise eighteen editions spanning the years 1977 with Case Studies in Medical Ethics to 2020 with the publication of the 4th edition of The Basics of Bioethics. These books will be called “case study books” in the article when referring to all eight books.

    Another case study project that deserves mention but will not be a part of the analysis in this article are the ethics case study analyses and commentaries Veatch wrote in each issue, approximately four times a year, from 1989 to 1996 in the American Journal of Hospital Pharmacy. During that time, the journal changed its name to the American Journal of Health Systems Pharmacy. Veatch drew on his background as a pharmacist to provide commentary that pointed out strengths and weaknesses of the two guest commentators’ arguments. Some of these cases were later reprinted with permission in Case Studies in Pharmacy Ethics.

  2. Google Scholar citation metrics were used to establish the number of times a book was cited in another peer reviewed publication since its publication.

  3. Retrieving book reviews is an arduous task particularly when the publications that are sought are not always available electronically. I would like to thank the reference and interlibrary loan librarians at the Creighton University Reinert Alumni Library, the Health Sciences Library, and the Klutznick Law Library for their able assistance in retrieving the reviews that are cited in this section of the article.

  4. No reviews were found for any edition of The Basics of Bioethics text.

References

  1. Veatch, Robert M., Gaylin Willard, and Councilman Morgan. 1973. The teaching of medical ethics: Proceedings of a conference sponsored by the Institute of Society, Ethics and the Life Sciences and Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, June 1–3, 1972. New York, Hastings-on-Hudson: Institute of Society, Ethics, and the Life Sciences.

  2. Veatch, Robert M. 1977. Case studies in medical ethics. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  3. Veatch, Robert M. 1981. A theory of medical ethics. New York: Basic Books Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  4. Clouser, Danner. 1980. Teaching bioethics: Strategies, problems and resources, New York: Hastings-on-Hudson: Institute of Society, Ethics, and the Life Sciences.

  5. Culver, Charles M., Danner Clouser, Bernard Gert, Howard Brody, John Fletcher, Albert Jonsen, Loretta Kopelman, Joanne Lynn, Mark Siegler, and Daniel Wikler. 1985. Basic curricular goals in medical ethics. New England Journal of Medicine 312(4): 253–256. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJM19850124312043.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Forrow, Lachlan, Robert Arnold, and Joel Frader. 1991. Teaching clinical ethics in the residency years: Preparing competent professionals. Journal of Medicine and Philosophy 16: 93–112.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Forrow, Lachlan and Robert Arnold. 1995. Bioethics education II. Medicine, In Encyclopedia of bioethics, 2nd edition, ed. Warren T. Reich, New York: Macmillan Library Reference.

  8. Post, Stephen G. 1995. Bioethics education. In Encyclopedia of bioethics, 2nd edition, ed. Warren T. Reich, New York: Macmillan Library Reference.

  9. National Institutes of Health. 2009. Responsible Conduct of Research Training. https://oir.nih.gov/sourcebook/ethical-conduct/responsible-conduct-research-training.

  10. Macklin, Ruth. 1987. Moral choices: Bioethics in today’s world. NY: Pantheon Books Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  11. Levine, Carol. 1989. Cases in bioethics: Selections from the Hastings Center Report. New York: St. Martin’s Press.

    Google Scholar 

  12. Ackerman, Terrence F., and Carson Strong. 1989. Casebook of medical ethics. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  13. Chambers, Tod S. 1999. The fiction of bioethics – Cases as Literary Texts. New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  14. Medina, Melissa M. 2010. Relationship between question prompt format and the quality of responses. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education 74(2): Article 29.

  15. Veatch, Robert M. 1992. Case analysis in ethics instruction. In Teaching and learning strategies in pharmacy ethics, ed. Amy Haddad, 85–97. Omaha, NE: Creighton University.

    Google Scholar 

  16. Lakoff, George, and Mark Johnson. 1980. Metaphors we live by, 10–13. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  17. Menkel-Meadows, Carrie. 2000. Telling stories in school: Using case studies and stories to teach legal ethics. Fordham Law Review 69(3): 787–816.

    Google Scholar 

  18. Shulman, Lee S. 1987. Knowledge and teaching. Harvard Educational Review 57(1): 1–22.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Lederman, Norman G., and Julie Gess-Newsome. 1992. Do subject matter knowledge, pedagogical knowledge, and pedagogical content knowledge constitute the ideal gas law of science teaching? Journal of Science Teaching 3(1): 16–20.

    Google Scholar 

  20. Cochran, Kathryn F., Richard A. King, and James A. DeRuiter. 1993. Pedagogical content knowing: An integrative model for teacher preparation. Journal of Teacher Education 44: 263–272.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Shulman, Lee S. 1986. Those who understand: Knowledge growth in teaching. Educational Researcher 15(2): 4–14.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Beshara, Stephanie, David Herron, Rebekah J. Moles, and Betty Chaar. 2020. Status of pharmacy education in Australia and New Zealand, American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education 84(3): Article 7452.

  23. Veatch, Robert M., Amy Haddad, and Esther J. Last. 2017. Case studies in pharmacy ethics, 3rd ed. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  24. Fry, Sarah, Robert M. Veatch, and Carol Taylor. 2010. Case studies in nursing ethics, 4th ed. Burlington, VT: Jones and Barlett Learning.

    Google Scholar 

  25. Veatch, Robert M., and Amy Haddad. 2008. Case studies in pharmacy ethics, 2nd ed. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  26. Veatch, Robert M. and Sarah Fry. 1987. Case studies in nursing ethics. Philadelphia, PA: J.B. Lippincott.

  27. Lo, Clifford W. 1987. A survey of basic texts in medical ethics. Transformation 4(1): 32–33.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Shannon, Thomas A. 1982. Book review. Theological Studies 43(3): 543–546.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Doyal, L. 1995. Book reviews. Journal of Dentistry 23(2): 129–130.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. Fowler, Marsha D. 1988. Book reviews. Journal of Professional Nursing 4(5): 388–389.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  31. Benjamin, Martin. 1988. Nursing ethics: An emerging integrity. Hastings Center Report 18(2): 38–39.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  32. Vivian, Jessie C. 2000. Book reviews. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education 64(Spring): 106–107.

    Google Scholar 

  33. Davis, Anne M. 1997. New in review. Journal of the American Dietetic Association 97(7): 812.

    Google Scholar 

  34. Swanson, Thor. 2012. Book reviews. Ethics & Medicine 28(3): 123–124.

    Google Scholar 

  35. Bernstein, Stanley. 1977. Review. The Antioch Review 35(4): 454.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  36. McCauley, Judith A. 2005. Review of: Ethical Questions in Dentistry. Journal of Dental Hygiene 79(3): 1–2.

    Google Scholar 

  37. New, Peter Kong-Ming. 1978. Book Reviews. Contemporary Sociology. 7(3): 327–328.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Pharmacy and Health Professions, Creighton University, Omaha, NE, USA

    Amy Haddad

Authors
  1. Amy Haddad
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Amy Haddad.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Haddad, A. Case analysis in ethics instruction: bootlegging theory in a topical structure. Theor Med Bioeth 43, 235–251 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11017-022-09577-0

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11017-022-09577-0

Keywords

Search

Navigation