Ethics in Field Healthcare Infrastructure Course
Online 300-hour course in ethics in field healthcare infrastructure. 6 modules covering the 1949 Geneva Conventions (I and IV), Additional Protocol I (arts. 12-16, protection of medical units) and DHIS2. Assigned tutor and open enrolment.
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Run a real engineering trade-off from this field. Move the sliders, watch the model react in real time and beat the challenge.
What you will be able to do
Understand the organisation of healthcare provision in deployed environments.
Apply ethical criteria for triage and the allocation of scarce resources.
Safeguard patient consent, confidentiality and autonomy.
Evaluate clinical quality and patient safety in the field.
Analyse the legal protection of the medical mission.
Manage relations with the local population on the basis of accountability.
Design an ethical protocol for a field healthcare facility.
Who it's for
- Emergency physician in deployed environments who wishes to specialise in Ethics in Field Healthcare Infrastructure.
- Field care nurse who wishes to specialise in Ethics in Field Healthcare Infrastructure.
- Humanitarian healthcare manager who wishes to specialise in Ethics in Field Healthcare Infrastructure.
- Clinical quality manager who wishes to specialise in Ethics in Field Healthcare Infrastructure.
- Clinical ethics adviser who wishes to specialise in Ethics in Field Healthcare Infrastructure.
- Coordinator of emergency medical teams who wishes to specialise in Ethics in Field Healthcare Infrastructure.
- Graduates in engineering or sciences seeking to enter military healthcare.
What you'll work with
- Geneva Conventions of 1949 (I and IV)
- Additional Protocol I (arts. 12-16, protection of medical units)
- Ethical standards for healthcare in armed conflict (AMM, ICRC and others, 2015)
- Classification and minimum standards for Emergency Medical Teams (WHO, 2021)
- Sphere Handbook (2018)
- Spanish Law 41/2002 on patient autonomy
- Code of Medical Ethics (OMC, 2022)
6 modules · 300 h
1.1Levels of care and the evacuation chain1.2Deployable healthcare facilities and their equipment1.3Population treated: own personnel and civilians1.4Limited resources and difficult decisions1.5Applicable international humanitarian law framework1.6Protection of personnel and healthcare facilities1.7Standards of humanitarian organisations1.8Healthcare codes of ethics1.9Vocabulary of clinical ethics1.10Exercise: identifying the dilemmas in a scenario
2.1Principles of triage and its models2.2Triage in mass casualty situations2.3Clinical criteria versus mission criteria2.4Patients with a very poor prognosis2.5Allocation of scarce resources2.6Priority between own personnel and civilians2.7Documenting the decision2.8Support for the team making the decision2.9Retrospective review of decisions2.10Practice: deliberating a triage case
3.1Informed consent in adverse conditions3.2Language barriers and cultural mediation3.3Minors and patients without an escort3.4Confidentiality in shared spaces3.5Clinical records and their custody3.6Requests for information from the command3.7Limits of the duty to inform third parties3.8Refusal of treatment3.9Conscientious objection of healthcare staff3.10Practice: consent and confidentiality protocol
4.1Minimum standards of care required4.2Staff competence and limits of practice4.3Medicines: supply, expiry and cold chain4.4Hygiene, sterilisation and infection prevention4.5Healthcare waste and its management4.6Patient safety and incident reporting4.7Continuity of care and transfer4.8Clinical record-keeping and traceability4.9Clinical audit of the facility4.10Practice: clinical quality checklist
5.1Care for the civilian population: criteria and limits5.2Risk of replacing the local health system5.3Coordination with humanitarian actors5.4Perception of impartiality and its consequences5.5Use of assistance for influence purposes5.6Transparency and public communication5.7Ethics training for deployed personnel5.8Psychological support for the team5.9Post-mission evaluation5.10Practice: protocol for care of the civilian population
6.1Choice of scenario and level of care6.2Description of available resources6.3Identification of foreseeable dilemmas6.4Triage and allocation protocol6.5Consent and confidentiality protocols6.6Quality and patient safety plan6.7Protocol for relations with the population6.8Training and team support plan6.9Plan report6.10Defence of the work
How you'll learn
100 % online training on the SEIUM campus, with downloadable material, recorded classes and an assigned technical tutor. No fixed timetable: students progress at their own pace within the intake, which makes it possible to combine the programme with work.
Each module combines theory, guided reading of the original standard and applied exercises. The working software is DHIS2, advanced Excel, QGIS, REDCap, in free, academic or evaluation versions. Case studies are based on real procedures: tabletop triage exercises, patient safety audits and analysis of care cases in deployed environments. Assessment is continuous per module, plus the final integrating project.
Build it end to end
Your final project follows the real engineering workflow, step by step, reviewed by your tutor.
Understand the organisation of healthcare provision in deployed environments.
Apply ethical criteria for triage and the allocation of scarce resources.
Safeguard patient consent, confidentiality and autonomy.
Evaluate clinical quality and patient safety in the field.
Analyse the legal protection of the medical mission.
Where this takes you
Requirements
- No prior degree is required.
- Internet connection and a computer capable of running the programme's software.
- Sufficient Spanish to follow technical regulatory reading.
Ready to start?
Send your application today. Our admissions team replies within 72 hours with your study plan and funding options.
Frequently asked questions
The programme totals 300 hours, spread over 3 to 5 months. That is an average of 10 to 15 hours per week, compatible with a full-time job.
You will work with DHIS2, advanced Excel, QGIS and REDCap. Free, academic or evaluation versions are used, and the tutor indicates the free alternative where one exists.
An SEIUM own diploma upon passing the continuous assessment and the integrating project. It is in-house training, not an official qualification from the Ministry.
Yes. Modules passed in a course or postgraduate diploma in the same area are credited towards the advanced programme. Check the credit transfer policy when you enrol.
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