Healthcare professionals face competing obligations to their patients, employers, and themselves. Resolving these dilemmas optimally requires the skill to understand and critically engage with others' - and our own - positions. In the words of the late Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu: ‘Don’t raise your voice, improve your argument.’

Date: - Register any time between 15 January and 15 December 2026 to receive the link to five recorded sessions in which you will be introduced to the tools of reasoning.
 - Cover the material in your own time and have the option of joining a live online session in November (date TBC).

Time: Self-paced

Venue: Online

This short course aims to equip participants with the skills they need to deal with the complexities of the healthcare environment – specifically those related to critical thinking and ethical reasoning.

By the end of the course, participants will be able to identify and critically analyse complex ethical dilemmas commonly encountered in healthcare, articulate and defend decisions to patients, colleagues, and other stakeholders and to navigate diverse viewpoints and foster open dialogues in healthcare settings.

The course is offered by UCT’s Ethics Lab and will consist of 5 x 90-minute recorded sessions online.

Entry requirements: Medical or allied healthcare professional degree, with biomedical ethics as an advantage. 

 

‘Not just basic ethical dilemmas as I expected, but building blocks to arguing ethical cases in my environment. I found that very helpful.’

‘I highly recommend this course.’

‘Thank you for an excellent course, which was enriching, well-balanced and very thought-provoking.’

'Excellent course - enjoyed every second.’