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.
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Notes
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.
Google Scholar citation metrics were used to establish the number of times a book was cited in another peer reviewed publication since its publication.
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.
No reviews were found for any edition of The Basics of Bioethics text.
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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
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11017-022-09577-0