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Unit 2: Introduction to Bioethics
(Weeks 2 & 3; 4-17 Feb)
Only morality in our actions
can give beauty and dignity to life. --Albert
Einstein
We have all been faced with a personal
problem that requires a difficult choice. FNP's make very
complex decisions as part of their everyday jobs. Sometimes
a conflict affects only us, causing a struggle with our
conscience. More often we try to balance the desires of a
patient, a family member, a professional colleague, or even
society against our own internal code. A dilemma develops
when the consequences of a plan of action are painfully
difficult, no matter which path is taken. In searching for
an acceptable resolution, consider the following
questions:
- Is the dilemma clearly
understood?
- Has sufficient information been
gathered from a variety of sources?
- What personal values and
principles are relevant for everyone
involved?
- Will reference to a source of
"right" and "wrong" such as the Koran or Bible be made
(deontological ethics)?
- Or will a reasoned analysis of the
benefits and harms of each choice be undertaken
(teleological ethics)?
- What are the primary obligations
of the person making the decision?
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Dying to
donate? An otherwise healthy man died last week as
a consequence of doing the good deed of donating
part of his liver for transplant. Not exactly
primary care, but this article raises some
interesting issues. Read more: Dying
to Donate
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Study
the following links. Although they were
developed for a group of senior high school
students, they are an excellent explanation of
bioethics. As you read, ask yourself:
- How can the principles
about which you are reading be applied as an
FNP?
- What do you think are the
daily--and less frequent--bioethical dilemmas
that an FNP faces?
- What resources does an
FNP have for resolving these issues?
- What kind of bioethical
decision-making process do you think will work
for an FNP?
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Additional
Resource:
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- Bioethics Topics from
the University of Washington School of
Medicine: http://eduserv.hscer.washington.edu/bioethics/topics/index.html
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Each of us must find our own moral
model, one that works for us. Living with integrity means
knowing our moral code and following it. Hopefully this
course will help you to face, evaluate and make the hard
choices with which you will be confronted in your clinical
practice. We need to know what our limits are, accept that
others may be guided by different values and perspectives,
and recognize that most professionals have their own
internal standards for ethical behavior.
A good resource for
developing questions that stimulate discussion:
http://questioning.org/Q7/toolkit.html
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Assignments:
- By the end of Week 2
(10 Feb):
- Reflect on your
professional experience as a nurse. Think of
a situation in which you faced an ethical
dilemma, i.e., a difficult choice between two
opposing sides.
- Using Forum 02-A
in Nurs
505A
or Nurs
505B,
explain how the following concepts were
related to each other in your dilemma:
value, context, principle,
perspective.
- Conclude your
explanation by formulating a
thought-provoking question that stimulates
discussion among your classmates.
-
- Read each other's entries
and discuss.
- By the end of Week 3
(17 Feb):
- Refer back to the dilemma
or difficult choice you faced in Week 2
above.
-
- In Forum 02-B
in Nurs
505A
or Nurs
505B, analyze
the dilemma or choice using the following points
to guide you.
-
- Briefly describe
the core issue or central
problem.
- What was the main
conflict for you? (The conflict should be
explained in such a way that both sides of
the issue can be clearly
understood.)
- Briefly explain
several of your beliefs or values that
were involved in this particular dilemma.
Were these beliefs incommensurable? Which
belief had the highest priority? Explain
the conflict between your belief(s) and
the issue or problem.
- What solution did
you choose for the problem? Were there any
alternative solutions to the one you chose
that would have been acceptable for the
problem? What made the solution you chose
more acceptable? How did you
choose?
- What perspective
did you use when you made the final
choice? Do you think your perspective
might change depending on the conflict? Or
do you favor one particular perspective no
matter what the conflict? Why?
- Conclude your analysis
by posing a thoughtful question that leads to
discussion.
- Read each other's entries
and discuss.
-
- Begin
planning the Group
Project
for Unit 6.
By the end
of Week 4 (24 Feb):
Meet with your group, select a group leader,
assign tasks to each team member and establish
due dates. Each student should post a note in
your group workroom in Nurs
505A or
Nurs
505B, indicating
what you plan to do for the project and when you
expect to accomplish these plans. The leader of
the group should indicate that they are the
leader.
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