Short Courses on Ageing and Ethics

Course Outline

CBmE is delighted to launch two short courses on ageing and ethics.

The first course on The Ethics of Families in Ageing Societies explores the ethical aspects of the important role that the family unit plays in an ageing society.  Learners will examine how family values intersect with societal norms, and the variety of roles of the family in the health and social care of the elderly person.

The second course on The Ethics of Communities and Cultures in Ageing explores the ethical aspects of the role of the community and culture in an ageing society.  Learners will examine the interplay between ethics and different sets of cultural values, and consider how changing cultural norms impact the life of the elderly person.

These courses are led by an educator with extensive teaching and research experience in the areas of ageing and end-of-life, and will be delivered through a combination of recorded lectures and ‘live’ online sessions.

The Ethics of Families in Ageing Societies

Mondays, 3 & 10 June 2024, 6.30pm - 8.00pm

Session 1 : Changing Relationships in Late Life

Changes in family life and family structure have taken place alongside the ageing of society, and so have family living arrangements. This session focuses on changing relationships as populations age. Will family support diminish or be reconfigured? What relationships should form the necessary supports for ageing well?

Session 2 : Loneliness

While living with family members remains the most common living arrangement, increasing numbers of older people in Singapore are living alone. Social isolation is a risk factor for depression and loneliness but people who are socially isolated may not be lonely, and those who are lonely may not be chronically lonely. How should we think about loneliness as a human condition that accompanies transitions in life? What should we do about the risks accompanying social isolation?

The Ethics of Communities and Cultures in Ageing

Mondays, 24 June & 1 July 2024, 6.30pm - 8.00pm

Session 1 : Cultures of Ageing

These sessions look at the concept of gero-transcendence (developing positively into older adulthood) through the lens of different cultures in ageing. We consider precarity and suffering in old age, and how these existential realities are understood in Confucian, Muslim, Hindu and Christian perspectives that are part of Singapore’s cultural heritage.

Session 2 : Care in Ageing Societies

What is a caring community? The Ethics of Care is a major ethical theory that guides health and social care practice, especially in nursing and social care in many advanced countries. This approach in ethics prioritizes the value of caring relationships in empowering, dignifying and preventing harm to individuals, institutional actors and communities. Using illustrative case studies, participants will be asked to discuss the different meanings and configurations of caring and “uncaring care”, harm prevention and fairness to stakeholders in the context of Singapore.

Who Should Attend

These courses will be of benefit to those whose work involves delivery of care or service to the aged, or who routinely engage with the elderly and their families.

This includes:

  • Healthcare professionals
  • Social workers (both medical social work & community social work)
  • Ethics consultants & educators

Delivery Mode

Blended (asynchronous e-learning + synchronous online sessions)

Course Duration & Schedule

The Ethics of Families in Ageing Societies
5 hours : 2 x 2.5 hours (1 hour pre-recorded + 1.5 hours ‘live’)

Live Online Sessions : Mondays, 3 & 10 June 2024, 6.30pm-8.00pm

The Ethics of Communities and Cultures in Ageing
5 hours : 2 x 2.5 hours (1 hour pre-recorded + 1.5 hours ‘live’)

Live Online Sessions : Mondays, 24 June & 1 July 2024, 6.30pm-8.00pm

Educator

Dr Jacqueline Chin

Dr Jacqueline Chin is a bioethicist with a focus on the ethical and social issues associated with ageing and end-of-life. Her research has addressed national and globally-relevant capacity-building in biomedical ethics, and her works include What Doctors Say About Care of the Dying (2010-2011), Making Difficult Decisions with Patients and Families (2014) and Caring for Older People in An Ageing Society (2017). Formerly the Director of the Centre for Biomedical Ethics (CBmE) in the NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, she has continued her association with CBmE and helps to teach various modules and programmes as an external lecturer.

Completion & Certification

For each course, learners must attend and participate in both the online sessions to be considered as having successfully completed the course.

Learners who complete a course will be awarded a digital Certificate of Completion.

CME/CPE Points

CPE points for doctors, nurses and pharmacists are applied and subjected to approval.

Registration Fee

Short Course Course Fee
(excluding GST)
S$
Course Fee
(including GST)
S$
Course 1 : The Ethics of Families in Ageing Societies $250.00 $272.50
Course 2 : The Ethics of Communities and Cultures in Ageing $250.00 $272.50
Both Courses $500.00 $545.00

Contact Person

Ms Karen Teo

  medtysk@nus.edu.sg
  +65 6516 8141