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FLME41040

Academic Year 2026/2027

Legal Medicine (MScPhysio) (FLME41040)

Subject:
Forensic & Legal Medicine
College:
Health & Agricultural Sciences
School:
Medicine
Level:
4 (Masters)
Credits:
2.5
Module Coordinator:
Dr Cliona McGovern
Trimester:
Autumn
Mode of Delivery:
On Campus
Internship Module:
No
How will I be graded?
Letter grades

Curricular information is subject to change.

The overall aim of the module is to develop an understanding of the role and responsibility of a physiotherapist in a legal context and to give the student a working knowledge of professionalism and medico-legal matters pertinent to present day and future clinical practice. Students will be introduced to the Irish legal system and will gain an understanding of the Irish Court System.

Students will be educated on consent, and consent policies, including when consent must be obtained, who can give it, capacity to consent and the protocol for individuals who lack the capacity to give consent. Issues surrounding minors and consent will also be covered, along with refusal of treatment. Informed consent and the provision of necessary information by the healthcare professional prior to treatment is covered.

Students will be introduced to CORU’s Code of Professional Conduct and Ethics for Physiotherapists. This handbook details important information surrounding the standards of ethical behaviour expected by Physiotherapists, with a focus on the three main responsibilities of the Physiotherapist; conduct, performance and ethics. Important issues are included such as acting within the limits of your knowledge, skills, competence and experience, understanding when onward referral to another appropriate professional is required, along with respecting the confidentiality and privacy of service users. Similarly, the limits of confidentiality and informing service users of circumstances where information may be shared in order to provide effective care or when disclosure is mandated by law will also be covered.

Students will gain insight into CORU’s Continuous Professional Development (CPD) and Fitness to Practice requirements, to ensure best physiotherapy practices. An emphasis is placed in important aspects of professional conduct, patient safety and open disclosure. This module will also explore duty of care in the medical context, breach of duty and medical negligence. Understanding the legal duty to keep and consult medical records. Records must be accurate, legible, objective, up-to-date and adhere to the relevant documentation standards.


Mapped to CORU SoP: 1.1-2, 1.4, 1.6-7, 1.10-11, 1.15-16, 2.6, 2.8, 4.1-2

About this Module

Learning Outcomes:

On completion of this module students should:
1. Define professional ethics and have a thorough understanding of CORU’s Code of Professional Conduct and Ethics for Physiotherapists and the responsibilities it outlines including confidentiality, open disclosure, conduct, duty of care, limits of practice, professionalism, performance, and documentation.
2. Explain ethical & legal issues and the professional responsibilities such as CPD requirements as defined by the Health & Social Care Professionals Council (CORU), including fitness to practice along with the complaints process, patient safety and open disclosure.
3. Demonstrate an understanding of the Irish Legal system and describe the obligations of the physiotherapist and/or employer hospital within this framework along with medico-legal issues which may arise.
4. Define and differentiate appropriate legal terms.
5. Define the concept of consent and its implications to examinations in Physiotherapy Departments or private practice.

Indicative Module Content:

Ethical issues and the Law; Human experimentation and International Declarations. Introduction to the Irish Legal system.
CORU; Registration Boards & their functions; Confidentiality, Professionalism, CPD; Fitness to Practice; Health and Social Care Professionals Act, 2005.
Professional Negligence: Application to professional practice and lessons from case law.
Consent; The concept of consent in practice and the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015.
Patient Safety (Notifiable Incidents and Open Disclosure) Act 2023
Medical records; Privacy and confidentiality and the purpose and function of medico-legal reports.

UNESCO highlights a set of key competencies that support individuals in their development and support society in achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). UCD has adapted these competencies and is combining them with others to form a general framework of learning competencies. This module will help you develop the competencies below to the levels specified. 
Learning Competency Additional Information Level

Collaboration

 The ability to learn from others; to understand and respect the needs, perspectives and actions of others (empathy); to understand, relate to and be sensitive to others (empathic leadership); to deal with conflicts in a group; and to facilitate collaborative and participatory problem solving. Competent

Critical Thinking

 The ability to question norms, practices and opinions; to reflect on one’s own values, perceptions and actions. Competent

Systems Thinking

 The ability to recognize and understand relationships; to analyse complex systems; to think of how systems are embedded within different domains and different scales; and to deal with uncertainty. Competent

Strategic

 The ability to collectively develop and implement innovative actions that further sustainability at the local level and further afield. Competent

Integrated Problem Solving

 The overarching ability to apply different problem-solving frameworks to complex sustainability problems and develop viable, inclusive and equitable solution options that promote sustainable development, integrating the competencies in this list. Competent

Self-awareness

 The ability to reflect on one’s own role in the local community and (global) society; to continually evaluate and further motivate one’s actions; and to deal with one’s feelings and desires. Competent

Normative

 The ability to understand and reflect on the norms and values that underlie one’s actions; and to negotiate values, principles, goals, and targets, in a context of conflicts of interest and trade-offs, uncertain knowledge and contradictions. Competent

Anticipatory

 The ability to understand and evaluate multiple scenarios for the future – possible, probable and desirable; to create one’s own visions for the future; to apply the precautionary principle; to assess the consequences of actions; and to deal with risks and changes. Competent

Digital Literacy and Judgement

 The ability to access, evaluate, create and communicate information in digital environments; to engage critically, ethically and responsibly with digital technologies and digital information; to understand their opportunities, limitations, risks and impact on individual’s digital identities; and to exercise informed judgement in digital participation and decision-making. Competent

AI Literacy & Agency

 The ability to understand, critically evaluate and responsibly engage with artificial intelligence; to recognise how AI systems are shaped by human values; to assess their ethical, social and environmental implications; and to exercise human judgement, agency and accountability in AI-related contexts. Competent

Wellbeing

 Wellbeing is having the resources and skills to meet life's challenges, including attributes such as personal development skills, resilience, stress management, strengths, lifestyle skills, nutrition, physical activity, sleep, alcohol/substance use, academic skills, time management, goal setting, interpersonal skills, group work, communication. Competent

The United Nations identified seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as core to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and UCD contributes in general to SDG 4 Quality Education. Further SDGs explored within this module if relevant are listed below. A scale of 1 - 5 indicates the extent to which the SDG is covered.


 

Student Effort Hours:
Student Effort Type Hours
Autonomous Student Learning

40
Lectures

12
Total

52

Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
Lecture based module.

Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations

Not applicable to this module.


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Not applicable to this module.
 

Assessment Strategy
Description Timing Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade Component repeat (in-module) Offered
Exam (In-person): Closed book, in-person MCQ consisting of 15 questions with a single best answer. Gradescale will be provided at the start of the module. End of trimester
Duration:
1 hr(s)
 Other No
100
 No

As part of UCD's student support, under the Additional Consideration policy, extensions may be available for the following assessments in the module: Assignment (including essay/poster), Portfolio, Reflective Assignment, Report(s), and Individual Project.


Carry forward of passed components
No
 

Resit In Terminal Exam
Spring Yes - 1 Hour
Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 

Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Group/class feedback, post-assessment

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

At the end of the module, students will be provided with online feedback in relation to the general class performance via targeted communication. Students can attend for individual feedback if they wish.

Physiotherapists Registration Board - Code of Professional Conduct and Ethics
https://coru.ie/files-codes-of-conduct/prb-code-of-professional-conduct-and-ethics-for-physiotherapists.pdf

Timetabling information is displayed only for guidance purposes, relates to the current Academic Year only and is subject to change.
Autumn Lecture Offering 1 Week(s) - 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 Thurs 15:00 - 16:50
Autumn Lecture Offering 1 Week(s) - 4 Thurs 15:00 - 16:50
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