Assessment 3: Applying Ethical Principles
Sample Answer for Assessment 3: Applying Ethical Principles Included After Question
Assessment 3: 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:
1. 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.
· 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.
A Sample Answer For the Assignment: Assessment 3: Applying Ethical Principles
Title: Assessment 3: Applying Ethical Principles
Applying Ethical Principles
Ethical principles are the general decisions that validate a specific ethical prescription and valuation of human actions. Ethical values are indispensable to all healthcare workers, primarily nurses, who resolve ethical issues daily. The four main ethical principles are autonomy, beneficence, justice, and non-maleficence. Autonomy demands respect for patients’ decisions, while beneficence directs the provider to minimize harm and promote patients’ good. Justice advocates for equality in service provision, while non-maleficence directs the clinician not to harm the patient. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to shall analyze the incident 10 case study to determine how best we can apply the ethical principles in which ethical dilemmas arise.
Case Summary and Ethical Decision Making
Incident 10: To Vaccinate, or Not? Presents an account of Jenna and Chris Smith, who are parents to Ana. A 5-year-old baby. They desired to raise their kid as naturally as possible, which meant breastfeeding the baby exclusively for six months and feeding her on pure organic foods afterward and no vaccination. From the research, the Smiths concluded that the harmful effects of vaccines outweigh the beneficial effects, informing their decision not to vaccinate Ana. Dr. Angela Kerr, the family pediatrician, listens to the family’s concerns about vaccination. She feels that vaccination would benefit Ana and proceeded to give elaborative information to convince the family to accept vaccination. The smiths confirm their understanding of Dr. Angela’s explanation but insist on no vaccination.
The ethical decision-making model can be used to analyze the above ethical issue. The first component is moral awareness which refers to individual recognition of a moral issue (Wittmer, 2019). This component can apply to both sides. The Smiths recognize that their decision to allow their baby to get vaccinated can bring more harm than good. They base their argument on their research, where one of the sources is the mommy blogs that detail how vaccines have led to autism in many children. Dr. Kerr, based on her professionalism, recommends vaccination. The second component is the moral judgment which entails expressing and assessing moral reasoning for a possible solution to moral issues (Wittmer, 2019). Dr. Kerr has utilized his professional knowledge to explain the details regarding vaccines, including the safety and scenarios where vaccination may not be viable. Smith’s research is not justified since it is based on blogs rather than facts.
The last critical component is ethical behavior. Dr. Kerr is stranded on what to do next since, despite her explanation, the family still clings to not vaccination. It would be unethical to vaccinate the child minus the parent’s consent (Wittmer, 2019). Besides, failure to vaccinate the child may subject him to regrettable consequences. Ethical behavior should embrace the ethical principles: of autonomy, beneficence, justice, and non-maleficence. It requires a moral action in which boldness and obligation make a moral decision.
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The main factor contributing to the moral issues presented in the case study is misinformation. The decision by the smiths not to vaccinate is based on invalid research considering their information source. For instance, using information from research-based mommy blogs to make health decisions is inappropriate. The desire of the smiths to raise their kid naturally is good. Besides, the decision to feed their child exclusively breastmilk in the first six months and introduce organic food afterward was perfect. However, the decision to avoid vaccines was based on misinformation. Naturally, raising a child does not mean you ignore prophylactic disease measures to safeguard the child’s health.
Peer-Reviewed Journal Application
Haahr et al. (2020) discuss the ethical dilemmas defined and experienced by nurses in clinical practice. The review reports balancing harm and care as one of the major causes of ethical dilemmas in nursing. Balancing harm and care denote challenging scenarios where anticipated action from a nurse or healthcare provider collides with their professional values or principles. According to Haahr et al. (2020), balancing harm and care conflicts may result in stress and remorse regardless of the cause. Nurses’ holistic view of individual scenarios donates to the surging nurses’ stress levels. Our perception of care is deeply caught up in the prevailing structures of power and inequality. Hence, care is not only a moral concept but a treasured political concept since it aids us to rethink as autonomous human beings. The article further explains that ethics of care denotes the healthcare provider’s clinical wisdom and moral competence. This perception gives clinicians a unique view of a scenario than that of patients and donates to the ethical dilemmas experienced by clinicians where they are challenged in balancing care and harm.
The information contained in the peer-reviewed journal is credible since it outsources information from scholarly articles. The information is relevant to our discussion since it touches on critical issues clinicians face in their duty. As explained in the article, ethics of care applies to our case study. Dr. Kerr displays her clinical wisdom and moral competence b not judging her patients’ views but spending time explaining to them why her moral judgment is appropriate for their child. The information can be used to analyze the situation in the case to come up with an ethical decision suitable to the situation.
Communication Approaches
Dr. Kerr employed active listening skills in her interaction with the Smith family. She took her time to listen to their side of the story before engaging them in a discussion to prove why their judgment could be inappropriate. Besides, Dr. Kerr did not deny their point about autism rates as proof of the unforeseen risk of vaccines. She performed her role of patient education when she introduced a discussion of vaccine safety and the regular update of the vaccine safety profile by the Federal Governments Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System. However, Dr. Kerr failed to provide more information regarding autism and some of the predisposing factors that could have led to increased autism rates among vaccinated children in recent years.
The communication approaches that should be used include active listening skills and appreciating the knowledge presented by the patients (Alshammari, Duff & Guilhermino, 2019). In a disagreement, it is always important to consider points where you agree to build the conversation from a neutral point. For instance, Dr. Kerr did not undermine the research from her clients but endeavored to provide more relevant information to fill the information gap. The communication approach that should be avoided is dominating a discussion and undermining patients’ opinions regarding a given issue. The healthcare system advocates for patient-centered care where patient opinion matters a patient’s management.
Practical communication approaches are beneficial since they reduce costs like conflict, misinterpretation, faults, and misunderstanding (Alshammari, Duff & Guilhermino, 2019). It promotes trust, loyalty, and patient engagement, creating a better patient-clinician relationship. On the other hand, ineffective communication approaches are associated with deleterious effects such as a rise in tensions which reduces patients’ experience hence low productivity. Adverse outcomes associated with poor communication approaches in the healthcare setting include reduced medication adherence, patient dissatisfaction, and inappropriate use of limited resources (Arnold & Boggs, 2019).
Approach Effectiveness
Dr. Kerr employs professionalism while dealing with ethical situations. Through active listening, she identified the information gap in her client’s argument and hence spent time giving more information regarding the vaccine safety profile. She interacts with her clients at a neutral point to ensure that the conversation benefits them. For instance, she reminds the Smiths that some children in the general population have weakened immune systems because of genetic diseases or cancer treatment; hence, vaccination may not be medically feasible.
Health professionals are responsible for educating their patients concerning their clinical condition and the medication administered to address the situations. Dr. Kerr demonstrates professionalism by spending time growth her clients to educate them concerning vaccines and give her honest opinion that she feels is the best at the moment. she avails information not to be little the research conducted by her clients but to add more information that she felt was missing in their research. Despite their refusal to vaccinate, the Smiths appreciated the information from the clinician.
One key lesson from the case study is the significance of active listening when interacting with clients. It is essential to appreciate information from patients before enhancing them in a meaningful discussion in a situation where opinions collide. Besides, as a health provider, it is always essential to provide the correct information to the patient regardless of the situation. This entails pointing patients to suitable sources of healthcare information. For instance, the conviction regarding vaccination in the case study was due to a mommy blog which is not an appropriate source of healthcare information.
Possible Solution
Informed by the principle of autonomy, the most appropriate solution in this scenario would be to respect the client’s opinion. However, Dr. Kerr would advise on what to do in case of a future complication and the best method they can embrace to ensure their child is raised naturally as they desire. Respecting the opinion of the Smiths would build a positive rapport, and they will feel free to contact Dr. Kerr in case of any emergency regarding the child’s health. Besides, the information provided was appropriate and timely.
The proposed solution will foster professional collaboration, enhancing the client’s experience. It would demonstrate that the clinician value opinion of their client and adheres to the ethical principles that govern healthcare service provision. The experience will make clients feel free to reach out in case of anything regarding their child’s health and seek information on how best they can raise their kid naturally.
Conclusion
Healthcare providers should have a clear understanding of the fundamental ethical principles to know the limits they can go went ethical dilemmas present in practice. For instance, in the above case study, respecting the decision of the Smiths would be appropriate since it would obey the principle of autonomy. Besides, since there was no immediate harm to Ana, the decision also covers the other three principles.
References
Alshammari, M., Duff, J., & Guilhermino, M. (2019). Barriers to nurse–patient communication in Saudi Arabia: an integrative review. BMC Nursing, 18(1), 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-019-0385-4
Arnold, E. C., & Boggs, K. U. (2019). Interpersonal relationships e-book: professional communication skills for nurses. Elsevier Health Sciences.
Haahr, A., Norlyk, A., Martinsen, B., & Dreyer, P. (2020). Nurses experiences of ethical dilemmas: A review. Nursing Ethics, 27(1), 258-272. https://doi.org/10.1177/0969733019832941
Wittmer, D. P. (2019). Ethical decision-making. In Handbook of administrative ethics (pp. 481-507). Routledge.
Grading Rubric
| Performance Category | 100% or highest level of performance
100% 16 points |
Very good or high level of performance
88% 14 points |
Acceptable level of performance
81% 13 points |
Inadequate demonstration of expectations
68% 11 points |
Deficient level of performance
56% 9 points
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Failing level
of performance 55% or less 0 points |
| Total Points Possible= 50 | 16 Points | 14 Points | 13 Points | 11 Points | 9 Points | 0 Points |
| Scholarliness
Demonstrates achievement of scholarly inquiry for professional and academic topics. |
Presentation of information was exceptional and included all of the following elements:
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Presentation of information was good, but was superficial in places and included all of the following elements:
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Presentation of information was minimally demonstrated in all of the following elements:
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Presentation of information is unsatisfactory in one of the following elements:
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Presentation of information is unsatisfactory in two of the following elements:
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Presentation of information is unsatisfactory in three or more of the following elements
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| 16 Points | 14 Points | 13 Points | 11 Points | 9 Points | 0 Points | |
| Application of Course Knowledge
Demonstrate the ability to analyze and apply principles, knowledge and information learned in the outside readings and relate them to real-life professional situations |
Presentation of information was exceptional and included all of the following elements:
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Presentation of information was good, but was superficial in places and included all of the following elements:
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Presentation of information was minimally demonstrated in the all of the following elements:
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Presentation of information is unsatisfactory in one of the following elements:
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Presentation of information is unsatisfactory in two of the following elements:
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Presentation of information is unsatisfactory in three of the following elements
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| 10 Points | 9 Points | 6 Points | 0 Points | |||
| Interactive Dialogue
Initial post should be a minimum of 300 words (references do not count toward word count) The peer and instructor responses must be a minimum of 150 words each (references do not count toward word count) Responses are substantive and relate to the topic. |
Demonstrated all of the following:
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Demonstrated 3 of the following:
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Demonstrated 2 of the following:
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Demonstrated 1 or less of the following:
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| 8 Points | 7 Points | 6 Points | 5 Points | 4 Points | 0 Points | |
| Grammar, Syntax, APA
Points deducted for improper grammar, syntax and APA style of writing. The source of information is the APA Manual 6th Edition Error is defined to be a unique APA error. Same type of error is only counted as one error. |
The following was present:
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The following was present:
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The following was present:
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The following was present:
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The following was present:
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The following was present:
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| 0 Points Deducted | 5 Points Lost | |||||
| Participation
Requirements |
Demonstrated the following:
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Failed to demonstrate the following:
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| 0 Points Lost | 5 Points Lost | |||||
| Due Date Requirements | Demonstrated all of the following:
A minimum of one peer and one instructor responses are to be posted within the course no later than Sunday, 11:59 pm MT. |
Demonstrates one or less of the following.
A minimum of one peer and one instructor responses are to be posted within the course no later than Sunday, 11:59 pm MT. |