| CODE | FSN4002 | |||||||||
| TITLE | Professional Studies and Ethics | |||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 04 - Years 4, 5 in Modular UG or PG Cert Course | |||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 6 | |||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 5 | |||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Food Science, Nutrition and Dietetics | |||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | This study-unit will define the general principles of practical ethics that are needed for practice in Nutrition, Dietetics and Food Science. It will also equip students with strategies for effectively communicating scientific information to the public, including through social media, public speaking, and writing the unit will consolidate students' knowledge in their preferred streams and will showcase practice using an evidence based approach. Through the use of resources borrowed from other practice based study units, students will examine and discuss scenarios that may and do occur in practice and apply: - Ethics and values of professions; - AfN and HCPC Standards of Ethics, Conduct and Performance; - IFST Code of Professional Conduct; - Legal context of nutrition and dietetic practice; including current relevant legislation, codes of practice, local and international nutrition and dietetics benchmarks, guidelines and any other documentation that apply to these professions; - Responsibilities and accountability in relation to the current national and international legislation, national guidelines, local policies and protocols and clinical/corporate Governance relevant to the respective fields. Study-unit Aims: The study-unit aims to enable the students to critically evaluate various facets of practice and behaviour in the delivery of advice, opinion and in any of the tasks they could be assigned to in their chosen careers. The student will be encouraged to self-reflect and identify deficiencies in their knowledge, understanding and attitude and be motivated to address such deficiencies and defend and, where appropriate, alter the basis and nature of their practice. The student will critically examine the factors known to affect outcomes, appreciate the ethical, professional and attitudinal dimensions required of trained professionals. For these reasons the unit aims: - to translate effectively the varied concepts related to food, nutrition and dietetics into justified advice for client groups encountered in common practice; - to critically evaluate the theoretical basis of communication behaviour in the delivery of advice and be able to select appropriate models for behaviour and lifestyle change; - to foster the inter- and intra- disciplinary approach to client and consumer management; - to promote preventive practice; - to foster the development and application of various professional skills and competencies; - to promote responsible media engagement. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - recognize the moral and ethical issues of investigation and appreciate the need for ethical standards and professional codes of conduct applicable to general practice, and both interventional and observational studies in research, strategy and policy making; - explain the relevance of research governance frameworks; - pply Intellectual property standards and GDPR. 2. Skills By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - apply a number of key skills developed and consolidated during this and other units covered in the semester. These include critical evaluation, writing, organizational and communication skills; - develop and apply the skills base and competencies that supports effective practice – including hard, transferable, green and digital skills; - describe a co-operative and outline the steps involved in setting up, and running one; - responsibly engage with the public through face-to-face outreach events and through the media amongst other means. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: - Meyers, Christopher (2018). The professional ethics toolkit. Hoboken, NJ, USA: Wiley - Donahue, Wesley E. (2021). Professional Ethics: A Competency-Based Approach to Understanding and Applying Professional Ethics. Independently Published. ISBN 9798498665092 - Małkowska, A., Tomal, M., Uhruska, M., Pawlak, J., Maier, G., & Nichiforeanu, A. (2021). The impact of job satisfaction on valuers’ attitudes towards professional ethics. International Journal of Strategic Property Management, 25(6), 497-513. - Thompson, D. F. (2020). The professional ethics of witnessing professionals. Daedalus, 149(4), 67-78. - Farrugia, R. (2014). Enforcing professional legal ethics: A Maltese perspective (Master's thesis), University of Malta, Malta. |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture and Independent Study | |||||||||
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2025/6. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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