Essay on Medical Ethics and Issues: Death With Dignity Scenario and Reflection
Assignment 1—
Death With Dignity Scenario and Reflection:
In the scenario assignments, you are asked to reflect on responses to the presented scenario. It should not just be writing down your first reaction or what you already know.
Reflection involves critical thinking, which means rethinking your existing knowledge and previously held opinions in light of what we have learned about theories of ethics, logic, and reasoning. You will need to question your current knowledge and beliefs.
Discuss the main points of the debate, what stance you take, support that stance, and discuss the opposing argument. Also discuss an ethical theory that would apply to defend your view.
To complete each scenario assignment:
Complete the entire scenario.
Compose your reflection in a Word document and be sure to address, at a minimum, the following questions:
Why do you feel the way you do about the issue presented?
Of the four responses offered in the scenario, which do you think is the most ethical and why?
Support your conclusions with evidence and specific examples from the textbook, including a minimum of one theory of ethics to defend your stance.
Your reflection must be 1-2 pages in length and follow APA formatting and citation guidelines as appropriate, making sure to cite at least two sources.
Review the rubric for specific grading criteria.
ASSIGNMENT 2———–
Week 2 Term Paper: Topic
In this assignment, you will select a current medical ethics issue to research and write about for your research paper, which is due week 10.
Select a topic related to one of the following current medical ethics issues:
End of Life
Eugenics and Human Genetics
Medical Research
Reproductive Issues
Organ Donation and Transplantation
Public Health Issues
Access to Health Care
Biotechnology
Write a paragraph stating your specific issue (for instance, if you choose to write about End of Life, the particular case might be physician-assisted suicide) and explain why you have chosen this issue to research. Make sure there are competing positions on this issue that reflect differing ethical principles or interpretations.
Include references for three sources that could be used in the final paper. All sources should be less than five years old unless recent research is not available, and at least one reference must be a peer-reviewed article from a professional journal. Do not use Wikipedia or an encyclopedia as they are not considered reliable academic sources and will not be accepted.
Submissions should follow the APA format, including Title Page and References. No Abstract is required for this assignment.
The issue of physician-assisted suicide on the question of ethics relates to how to qualify that a patient is of “sound mind” when they make such a critical decision (Lagay, 2003) One of the criteria for physician-assisted suicide is to ensure that the person requesting to end his/her life must be capable of making personal decisions related to their health assured by being psychologically well and stable. However, there was no proof that could guarantee this requirement. No tests need to be submitted to establish that a person is mentally stable. Many argue that when a person is experiencing something traumatic like confronting their own mortality, they could also be experiencing the five stages of grief which could affect the patient’s mental state. Ethics dictate that the determination of an act as being ethical is on a set of rules provided by an external source (Paul & Elder, 2006). Thus, it would require a psychological test that proves the patient is of “sound mind” when the request to die is made.
