Applying Ethical Principles
Short on Time? Get Expert Nursing Help
Our nursing writers can handle your essay, care plan or case study from start to finish.
Analysis of the Case
The selected case study for this task is the ‘to vaccinate or not to vaccinate.’ Dr. Kerr is presented with a case where the parents, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, are reluctant to have their 5-day-old daughter Anna vaccinated citing that they desire to raise her in a natural way. The Smiths have cited their preference of avoiding any forms of vaccinations stating that they present risks such as autism. Dr. Kerr, obligated to offer the best advice and care to the Smiths and little Ana respectively, is conflicted about what to do as the parents are adamant about accepting vaccination (Capella University, 2020). Simply, the ethical dilemma that Dr. Kerr is faced with is whether to vaccinate the child and protect her from illnesses or heed to the wishes of the Smiths. There are three parties are involved in this dilemma; the pediatrician, the parents, and the child. Dr. Kerr is tasked with offering the best care for the patient while recognizing that parents are allowed to choose not to vaccinate their children under certain circumstances. Baby Ana is affected by the dilemma because depending on the decision that will is made, she will be protected or not protected from illnesses.
The three components of the ethical decision-making model are moral awareness, moral judgment, and ethical behavior. In the case of the pediatrician faced with the ethical dilemma of whether to vaccinate or not to vaccinate a 5-day-old child, moral awareness would involve the pediatrician being aware of the ethical implications of vaccinating or not vaccinating the child (Capella University, 2020). Moral judgment would involve the pediatrician making a judgment about what is the right thing to do in this situation, taking into account the potential benefits and risks of both vaccinating and not vaccinating the child. Ethical behavior would involve the pediatrician acting in accordance with their moral judgment, either vaccinating or not vaccinating the child as they believe is right. The particular factor that led to this dilemma is the reluctance and insistence by the Smiths that their daughter should not be vaccinated. In view of this, the pediatrician is faced with the tough decision to make on whether to vaccinate the child or not.
The Effectiveness of the Communication Approaches Present in a Case Study
The pediatrician took the time to listen and understand the Smiths’ reasons for being reluctant to vaccinate their child. Once the reasons were explained, the pediatrician provided information that may help change their minds. For example, the couple was convinced that there are more costs than benefits to vaccinating a child but the pediatrician explained to them why vaccination is important for children and the community as a whole in the long term. Throughout the discussion that the healthcare professional was interacting with the Smiths, she demonstrated professionalism in two important ways, Firstly, she took her time to listen to the opinions and justifications of the parents before outlining the reasons why vaccination was necessary Capella University NHS-FPX 4000 Assessment 3 Instructions: Applying Ethical Principles. She especially quoted medical studies and reasons to try and convince the parents to reconsider their hard stance against vaccination.
Healthcare professionals should use clear and concise communication when interacting with patients (Ratna, 2019). This means that they should use language that is easy to understand and get straight to the point. They should avoid using jargon or technical terms that the patient may not understand. Additionally, healthcare professionals should avoid using offensive language or making threats when communicating with patients (McCartney, 2017). This could cause the patient to feel uncomfortable or intimidated, which could make them less likely to want to follow the healthcare professional’s instructions. The consequences of using effective communication approaches are that the message is more likely to be received and understood by the intended audience. Additionally, using effective communication approaches can help build trust and rapport between the sender and receiver (Anderson et al., 2019). On the other hand, the consequences of using non-effective communication approaches are that the message is more likely to be misunderstood or misinterpreted by the intended audience. Additionally, using non-effective communication approaches can damage relationships and create mistrust between the sender and receiver.
The Effectiveness of the Approach Used
In response to the ethical dilemma, Dr. Kerr took made two important actions. First, she shared important information about the risks that unvaccinated children have in the community as compared to those that are vaccinated. She also explained to the Smiths that with more people refusing vaccinations to their children, they are increasing the risk of vaccine-preventable illnesses. The approach taken by the pediatrician was to first assess the situation to see if the parents are truly refusing to have their child vaccinated or if they are concerned about the possible impacts of the vaccine (Rus & Groselj, 2021). The health professional took the time to answer their questions and explain the importance of vaccines. Furthermore, she tried to talk to the parents to see if there are any underlying reasons for their refusal but in this case, there were none save for the fact that they preferred to raise their daughter in what they termed as an ‘organic’ way. The likely cause of action that Dr. Kerr took in a bid to resolve this dilemma was to involve other health professionals or agencies to help resolve the issue. This case highlights the importance of open communication between healthcare professionals and their patients (Rus & Groselj,2021). It is crucial that healthcare professionals take the time to answer questions and address concerns that patients and their families may have. Additionally, it is important to educate patients and their families about the importance of vaccines and the risks of not being vaccinated. In some cases, it may be necessary to involve other healthcare professionals or agencies to help resolve complex issues.
Ethical Principles Application
One possible solution the healthcare professional could suggest is to provide the parents with accurate and up-to-date information about the risks and benefits of vaccination. Also, the healthcare professional could explain that the risks of not vaccinating their child are much greater than the risks of vaccinating and that there is no evidence that vaccines cause autism (Ahmed & Mahmoud, 2020). In addition, the healthcare professional could also offer to answer any questions the parents may have. This approach makes the healthcare professional more effective in building relationships across disciplines within his or her organization because it shows that the healthcare professional is willing to listen to the parent’s concerns and provide them with accurate information. What’s more, likely to foster professional collaboration because it shows that the healthcare professional is open to working with the parents to find a solution that is acceptable to both parties.
References
Ahmed, A., Ali, H. S., & Mahmoud, M. A. (2020). Prioritizing Well-being of Patients through Consideration of Ethical Principles in Healthcare Settings: Concepts and Practices. Systematic Reviews in Pharmacy , 11 (5), 643-648.
Anderson, R. J., Bloch, S., Armstrong, M., Stone, P. C., & Low, J. T. (2019). Communication between healthcare professionals and relatives of patients approaching the end-of-life: a systematic review of qualitative evidence. Palliative medicine , 33 (8), 926-941. https://doi.org/10.1177/0269216319852007
Capella University (2020). NHS-FP4000 Exemplar Sample Ethical Case Study. Retrieved from Cases in health services management.
McCartney, J. J. (2017). The duty to vaccinate: Clarifying and broadening the basis of the obligation. American Journal of Bioethics , 17(4), 46–47. https://doi- org.library.capella.edu/10.1080/15265161.2017.1284939 Capella University NHS-FPX 4000 Assessment 3 Instructions: Applying Ethical Principles
Ratna, H. (2019). The importance of effective communication in healthcare practice. Harvard Public Health Review , 23 , 1-6. https://www.jstor.org/stable/48546767
Rus, M., & Groselj, U. (2021). Ethics of vaccination in childhood—A framework based on the four principles of biomedical ethics. Vaccines , 9 (2), 113. https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines9020113
Capella University NHS-FPX 4000 Assessment 3 Instructions: Applying Ethical Principles Instructions
Assessment 3 Instructions: Applying Ethical Principles
Develop a solution to a specific ethical dilemma faced by a health care professional by applying ethical principles. Describe the issues and a possible solution in a 3-5 page paper.
Introduction
Whether you are a nurse, a public health professional, a health care administrator, or in another role in the health care field, you must base your decisions on a set of ethical principles and values. Your decisions must be fair, equitable, and defensible. Each discipline has established a professional code of ethics to guide ethical behavior. In this assessment, you will practice working through an ethical dilemma as described in a case study. Your practice will help you develop a method for formulating ethical decisions.
Instructions
Note: The requirements outlined below correspond to the grading criteria in the scoring guide. At a minimum, be sure to address each point. In addition, you are encouraged to review the performance-level descriptions for each criterion to see how your work will be assessed.
For this assessment, develop a solution to a specific ethical dilemma faced by a health care professional. In your assessment:
Access the Ethical Case Studies media piece to review the case studies you will be using for this assessment.
Select the case most closely related to your area of interest and use it to complete the assessment.
Note: The case study may not supply all of the information you need. In such cases, you should consider a variety of possibilities and infer potential conclusions. However, please be sure to identify any assumptions or speculations you make.
Include the selected case study in your reference list, using proper APA style and format. Refer to the Evidence and APA section of the Writing Center for guidance.
Summarize the facts in a case study and use the three components of an ethical decision-making model to analyze an ethical problem or issue and the factors that contributed to it.
Identify which case study you selected and briefly summarize the facts surrounding it. Identify the problem or issue that presents an ethical dilemma or challenge and describe that dilemma or challenge.
Identify who is involved or affected by the ethical problem or issue.
Access the Ethical Decision-Making Model media piece and use the three components of the ethical decision-making model (moral awareness, moral judgment, and ethical behavior) to analyze the ethical issues.
Apply the three components outlined in the Ethical Decision-Making Model media.
Analyze the factors that contributed to the ethical problem or issue identified in the case study.
Describe the factors that contributed to the problem or issue and explain how they contributed.
Apply academic peer-reviewed journal articles relevant to an ethical problem or issue as evidence to support an analysis of the case.
In addition to the readings provided, use the Capella library to locate at least one academic peer-reviewed journal article relevant to the problem or issue that you can use to support your analysis of the situation. The NHS-FPX4000: Developing a Health Care Perspective Library Guide will help you locate appropriate references.
Cite and apply key principles from the journal article as evidence to support your critical thinking and analysis of the ethical problem or issue.
Review the Think Critically About Source Quality resource.
Assess the credibility of the information source.
Assess the relevance of the information source.
Discuss the effectiveness of the communication approaches present in a case study.
Describe how the health care professional in the case study communicated with others.
Assess instances where the professional communicated effectively or ineffectively.
Explain which communication approaches should be used and which ones should be avoided.
Describe the consequences of using effective and non-effective communication approaches.
Capella University NHS-FPX 4000 Assessment 3 Instructions: Applying Ethical Principles
Discuss the effectiveness of the approach used by a professional to deal with problems or issues involving ethical practice in a case study.
Describe the actions taken in response to the ethical dilemma or issue presented in the case study.
Summarize how well the professional managed professional responsibilities and priorities to resolve the problem or issue in the case.
Discuss the key lessons this case provides for health care professionals.
Apply ethical principles to a possible solution to an ethical problem or issue described in a case study.
Describe the proposed solution.
Discuss how the approach makes this professional more effective or less effective in building relationships across disciplines within his or her organization.
Discuss how likely it is the proposed solution will foster professional collaboration.
Write clearly and logically, with correct use of spelling, grammar, punctuation, and mechanics.
Apply the principles of effective composition.
Determine the proper application of the rules of grammar and mechanics.
Write using APA style for in-text citations, quotes, and references.
Determine the proper application of APA formatting requirements and scholarly writing standards.
Integrate information from outside sources into academic writing by appropriately quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing, following APA style.
Example Assessment: You may use the following to give you an idea of what a Proficient or higher rating on the scoring guide would look like:
Assessment 3 Example [PDF] .
Additional Requirements
Your assessment should also meet the following requirements:
Length: 3–5 typed, double-spaced pages, not including the title page and reference page.
Font and font size: Times New Roman, 12 point.
APA tutorial: Use the APA Style Paper Tutorial [DOCX] for guidance.
Written communication: Use correct spelling, grammar, and punctuation.
References: Integrate information from outside sources to include at least two references (the case study and an academic peer-reviewed journal article) and three in-text citations within the paper.
APA format: Follow current APA guidelines for in-text citation of outside sources in the body of your paper and also on the reference page.
Competencies Measured
By successfully completing this assessment , you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and scoring guide criteria:
Competency 1: Apply information literacy and library research skills to obtain scholarly information in the field of health care.
Apply academic peer-reviewed journal articles relevant to an ethical problem or issue as evidence to support an analysis of the case.
Competency 3: Apply ethical principles and academic standards to the study of health care.
Summarize the facts in a case study and use the three components of an ethical decision-making model to analyze an ethical problem or issue and the factors that contributed to it.
Discuss the effectiveness of the approach used by a professional to deal with problems or issues involving ethical practice in a case study.
Apply ethical principles to a possible solution to an ethical problem or issue described in a case study.
Competency 4: Write for a specific audience, in appropriate tone and style, in accordance with Capella’s writing standards.
Discuss the effectiveness of the communication approaches present in a case study.
Write clearly and logically, with correct use of spelling, grammar, punctuation, and mechanics.
Write following APA style for in-text citations, quotes, and references.
Capella University NHS-FPX 4000 Assessment 3 Instructions: Applying Ethical Principles Ethical Case Studies
Consider the ethical dilemma the health care professional is faced with in the selected case study. Pay particular attention to details that will help you analyze the situation using the three components of the Ethical Decision Making Model (moral awareness, moral judgment, and ethical behavior).
Note: The case study may not supply all of the information you may need for the assignment. In such cases, you should consider a variety of possibilities and infer potential conclusions. However, please be sure to identify any speculations that you make.
Hide All
Incident 2: Emergency Department Repeat Admissions — A Question of Resource Use
Incident 9: The Missing Needle Protector
Incident 10: To Vaccinate, or Not?
Jenna and Chris Smith are the proud parents of Ana, a 5–day–old baby girl born without complications at Community Hospital. Since delivery, the parents have bonded well with Ana and express their desire to raise her as naturally as possible. For the Smiths, this means breastfeeding exclusively for the first six months, making their own baby food using pureed organic foods, and not allowing Ana to be vaccinated.
The Smiths are college educated and explain they have researched vaccines and decided the potential harms caused by them far outweigh any benefits. They point to the rise in autism rates as proof of the unforeseen risk of vaccines. Their new pediatrician, Dr. Angela Kerr, listens intently to the Smiths’ description of their research, including online mommy–blogs that detail how vaccines may have caused autism in many children. The Smiths conclude by resolutely stating they’ve decided not to vaccinate Ana, despite the recommendations of the medical community Capella University NHS-FPX 4000 Assessment 3 Instructions: Applying Ethical Principles.
Dr. Kerr begins by stating that while vaccines have certainly sparked controversy in recent years, she strongly recommends that Ana become fully vaccinated. Dr. Kerr explains that vaccines have saved the lives of millions of children worldwide and have been largely responsible for decreases in child mortality over the past century. For example, the decreased incidence of infection with the potentially fatal Haemophilus influenzae type b, has resulted from routine immunization against that bacterium. Similarly, epidemics such as the recent outbreak of measles are usually associated with individuals who have not been vaccinated against that pathogen.
Dr. Kerr goes on to endorse the general safety of vaccines by informing Ana’s parents that safety profiles of vaccines are updated regularly through data sources such as the federal government’s Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS). The VAERS, a nationwide vaccine safety surveillance program sponsored by the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is accessible to the public at https://vaers.hhs.gov/index . This system allows transparency for vaccine safety by encouraging the public and healthcare providers to report adverse reactions to vaccines and enables the federal government to monitor their safety. No vaccine has been proven casual for autism spectrum disorder (ASD), or any developmental disorder. On the contrary, many studies have shown that vaccines containing thimerasol, an ingredient once thought to cause autism, do not increase the risk of ASD.
Finally, Dr. Kerr reminds the Smiths that some children in the general population have weakened immune systems because of genetic diseases or cancer treatment, for example. It may not be medically feasible to vaccinate such children. Other children are too young to receive certain immunizations. Instead, these children are protected because almost all other children (and adults) have been vaccinated and this decreases their exposure to vaccine–preventable illnesses (VPIs). This epidemiological concept is known as “herd immunity.” As more parents refuse immunization for their healthy children, however, the rate of VPIs will increase. This puts vulnerable children at significant risk of morbidity and mortality. Routine childhood immunization contributes significantly to the health of the general public, both by providing a direct benefit to those who are vaccinated and by protecting others via herd immunity. Dr. Kerr concludes by stating that after considering the risks versus the benefits of immunization, most states require vaccinations before children can attend school. Parents may decide not to vaccinate under specific circumstances, however, which vary by state.
Jenna and Chris Smith confirm their understanding of what Dr. Kerr has explained, but restate that they do not want Ana vaccinated at this time. Dr. Kerr is perplexed as to what to do Capella University NHS-FPX 4000 Assessment 3 Instructions: Applying Ethical Principles.
