Volume 1: November 2014

Students then had to see if their
budget was successful when they
were given information about
what happened, as well as moral
dilemmas they would have to
resolve. For example:
Year 1
Locals, hearing of the availability
of drugs, swarmed to the newly
opened centre. If you didn’t buy
two extra staff, all the drugs you
arrived with were stolen during
a riot. 35,000 blood samples
were analysed. Did you cope
with this? 100 pregnancies with
HIV positive mothers. Did you
have enough money? 750 new
cases of HIV. Did you have
enough money?
Year 1 dilemma
An HIV positive man receives
one months anti-retroviral
drugs.
The next day he returns saying
they have been stolen.
You suspect he has sold them.
What do you do?
Taking part in a Medical Ethics
Committee on whether foetal
2 surgery should be licensed for cleft
palate
For this task pupils took on
defined roles that they had a
week to research and prepare.
They stayed in role throughout
the debate. There were several
roles suitable for quieter
students.
ROLES:
GP - Doctors are the primary
managers in the treatment
of patients. They evaluate
symptoms, consider a range of
possible diagnoses, undertake
appropriate examination and
further tests, advise patients
on the best course of treatment
and monitor the progress of that
treatment. If necessary, they
will refer the patient onwards
to a specialist doctor for further
opinion. Should you ever
suggest foetal surgery – are your
own views important?
Research Doctor - Academic
doctors are responsible for
teaching new generations
of doctors and undertaking
research in order to take forward
the science of medicine. What is
your line on new cutting-edge
surgery?
Lay parent - no experience of
cleft palate…. Take a for/ against
line and come up with a case
Child born with cleft palate -
what experiences have you had?
Take whatever view you want
Surgeon - you will be performing
the operation – what are your
duties, rights?
Parent of child with cleft palate
- what has the whole process of
having a child been like? – take
whatever line you want
Parent of child who has had
successful foetal surgery – was
the process stressful, having had
a successful operation what will
you now say?
Legal/ philosophy expert - you
are going to have to talk about
the rights of the mother and the
baby
Reporter - you will have to write
a concise 250 word report on the
session
Chairman - you have to manage
the two debates, allow everybody
to speak/ question each other,
and run the vote at the end
THE REPORTER’S REVIEW OF THE DEBATE
-January 2014
The ‘GP’ opened the debate explaining the importance of ensuring that
parents have been fully informed on the risks and outcomes of foetal surgery.
However, she also stated that due to the very high risks of mortality, the surgery
should not be allowed for cosmetic problems which aren’t life-threatening.
The ‘Research Doctor’ shared a similar line of argument, saying that the
surgery should continue as it needs to be practised in order to advance, and
noting the clear advantages of the surgery if the foetus has a life-threatening
condition – it could save lives – then again, she highlighted the controversy
surrounding the use of the surgery for correcting cleft palate, and highlighted
the need for parents to be fully informed.
Having noted the dangers to the lives of both the mother and child, the
‘surgeon’ agreed that the only way to improve the foetal surgery is through
experience and practise. Explaining the careful monitoring of both mother
and child during the surgery, she supported the idea of using foetal surgery
whenever it was in the best interests of the patients, and they understood
the risks. The ‘parent of the child who has had successful foetal surgery’
also recommended the use of foetal surgery, as it can give the child a better
quality of life, and as long as the parents were fully informed he felt that both
the benefits to the child and the practice of the surgery outweighed the risks.
Similarly the ‘parent of child with cleft palate’ argued that it should be allowed
to fix the problem without causing the scarring. However, the ‘child born
with cleft palate’ felt that it was safer to opt for the proven method of surgery
after birth which could have similar results – without the high risks. Also
against the surgery, the ‘Legal and Philosophy expert’ argued that with the
low success rate and stress for the mother and child, it was not justifiable.
Overall, it was felt that despite the risks involved – foetal surgery should
be allowed in the UK, due to the benefits it can have, and that, having been
made aware of the risks the choice should lie ultimately with the parents
(although it was thought that the surgery should not be offered for more
minor complaints).
Each cross-curricular teaching and learning team selected a
theme to work on during the academic year and one group
chose to focus on enquiry-based learning. The team met
and discussed the concepts and techniques of enquiry-based
learning and then agreed to try out some techniques in their
classrooms. Each member of the team then contributed an
article to a summary publication. In the summer term the
team presented to the whole staff in a professional skills
meeting and published the booklet, which is available by
clicking the image above.