Dr Jordan A. Parsons BA(Hons), MScR, PhD, FHEA

Birmingham Medical School
Assistant Professor in Medical Ethics and Law

Contact details

Address
Institute of Clinical Sciences
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2TT
UK

Jordan joined Birmingham Medical School in 2023 as Assistant Professor in Medical Ethics and Law. He is part of the team responsible for delivering all ethics and law teaching on the MBChB. Jordan is also Deputy Module Lead for the medical student Elective.

In addition to his teaching, Jordan is very research active. He has published extensively on ethical, legal, and policy issues in healthcare, covering a broad range of topics. His next book, due to be published by Oxford University Press in 2024, provides a comprehensive ethical, legal, and policy analysis of the move to “opt out” organ donation across the UK.

Jordan has previously worked at the Universities of Keele and Bristol and remains an Honorary Senior Research Associate at Bristol Medical School. He has also held visiting positions at the University of Zurich (Switzerland), Cardiff University (UK), the Sindh Institute of Urology & Transplantation (Pakistan), Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (Germany), and The Hastings Center (US).

Teaching

Postgraduate supervision

Jordan welcomes interest in doctoral studies relating to any of his research interests.

Research

Research interests

Jordan has a range of interests spanning healthcare ethics, law, and policy, including:

  • Organ donation and transplantation
  • Nephrology
  • Abortion care
  • Telemedicine
  • Mental capacity
  • Empirical bioethics
  • Translational bioethics
  • Devolution and policy transfer

Current projects

Best Interests and Rotten Compromise

Funded by the Institute of Medical Ethics, this project examines the nature of compromise in best interests decisions made under the Mental Capacity Act 2005.

 Best Interests in Renal Dialysis

Funded by Kidney Research UK, and in collaboration with colleagues at the University of Bristol and North Bristol NHS Trust, this project is developing educational resources and training to support best interests decision making in renal care. Drawing on earlier research findings, we are running a series of co-production workshops with stakeholders throughout the development process.

The SAPHE Study (Safeguarding in Abortion: Providers of Healthcare’s Experiences)

Funded by the Institute of Medical Ethics, and in collaboration with a colleague at Durham University, this project examines the move to telemedicine in abortion care in England and Wales from the perspective of healthcare providers.

Our work on this topic has been published in journals including Medical Law Review, Lancet, and Health Policy. We also provided a comprehensive ethical, legal, and policy analysis in our book, Early Medical Abortion, Equality of Access, and the Telemedical Imperative (Oxford University Press, 2021).

Translational Bioethics

Funded by the Institute of Medical Ethics, and in collaboration with colleagues at the University of Bristol, this project explores the possible role of so-called “translational bioethics” in the wider field of bioethics. Our workshop – ‘Translational Bioethics: A distinctive entity or emperor’s new clothes?’ – brought together academic researchers, clinicians, and those actively involved in policy, to examine the concept of translational bioethics and work towards both a definition and evaluation criteria. Our discussions will culminate in a special issue of the journal Bioethics in 2024.