Public Health Law & Ethics

Course Overview

Public health professionals work within complex systems shaped by medicine, regulation, policy and deeply rooted social factors. Whether responding to crises, supporting community programs or evaluating healthcare practices, leaders must understand how laws and ethical frameworks guide decision‑making and promote equitable care.  

This course examines the systemic causes of public health challenges, the factors that drive high‑quality and equitable care and key policies such as medical licensing and the Affordable Care Act (ACA). It also introduces foundational concepts in research ethics and bioethics to help you articulate and defend ethical positions in clinical and research settings. You’ll gain the confidence to navigate the legal and ethical dimensions of public health, practice and policy. 

Course Features:  

• • Part of the Health Law Certificate  
    
  • 100% online and self-paced 
    
  • No LSAT or GRE required 
    
  • Expert-curated curriculum taught by legal and healthcare subject matter experts 
    
  • All course materials included 

Who Should Enroll

This noncredit certificate is ideal for professionals in healthcare administration, law, compliance, public health, policy, HR, risk management and innovation leadership seeking legal skills in healthcare. If you make decisions that impact patient privacy, risk, compliance, contracts or innovation, this certificate gives you the legal fluency to lead responsibly. 

What You’ll Learn

By the end of this course, you will be able to: 

• • Identify and evaluate multiple, systemic causes of public health problems 
  • Define the factors that go into incentivizing and providing quality healthcare to patients 
  • Analyze medical practices for compliance with non-discrimination provisions in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) 
  • Describe relevant laws and articulate how policies shape professional pathways in medicine 
  • Understand the concepts and values underlying research ethics and bioethics in clinical practice 
  • Develop ethical positions on critical issues in bioethics, practice and research 

Understanding public health law and ethics strengthens your ability to navigate policy, compliance, community health and ethical decision-making—skills increasingly valued across healthcare systems, nonprofits and government agencies. 

Yes. This course is one of six in the Health Law Certificate, but it can also be taken individually. 

This self-paced course takes approximately four hours to complete, but you can move at a pace that fits your schedule.  

The course is delivered fully online through short modules, real world examples and application-based learning. All materials are included with enrollment. 

Professionals with training in healthcare law are in growing demand across hospitals, health systems, government agencies and consulting firms. Skills developed in this course support roles in compliance, regulatory affairs, healthcare administration, public health and legal consulting. This course and the Health Law Certificate provide a competitive edge in a high impact, evolving field. 

Creighton University is recognized by SHRM to offer Professional Development Credits (PDCs) for SHRM-CP® or SHRM-SCP® recertification activities. This program is valid for 4.0 PDCs for SHRM-CP® or SHRM-SCP® recertification.

No. A law degree is not required, and neither is standardized testing such as the LSAT or GRE. This certificate is open to professionals from a variety of backgrounds who are looking to better understand the intersection of law and healthcare.  

We do not offer tuition assistance for noncredit lifelong learning courses or certificates. However, Creighton alumni, faculty, staff and eligible partner employees, along with their spouses and dependents, may qualify for a 15% discount. One discount per offering. Other restrictions may apply. Learn more.