Ethical Dilemma Paper
Directions: In this assignment, you will be working individually to write a paper about an ethical issue related to the beginning of life or health maintenance or allocation of health care resources, unjust, incompetent, illegal behavior or end-of-life issues. You will select only one of these ethical issues. The purpose is to explore both sides of an ethical dilemma (fiction or non-fiction) that you may have encountered in a health care setting and develop your skills in analyzing and resolving an ethical issue. Include your thoughts and reflections on an ethical issue, but opinions must be supported by references from the professional literature or valid websites. Use the Bioethical Decision Making Model to assist with a resolution of the dilemma. There must be at least three references. The paper and references must be in proper APA format in the APA template.
Use the following to format paper and include the subheadings listed in bold:
Title page, name, running head, page numbers and headings throughout the paper to make the sections easily distinguishable. Papers should be in the student’s own words with references cited in APA format.
Introduction
Describe a specific Scenario/Ethical Dilemma related to your ethical issue (fiction or nonfiction), the ethical dilemma raised should be phrased as a question.
Consider Stakeholders who should be involved in the decision-making process along with an ethical framework for resolving the ethical dilemma. Consider who is affected by the issue and who should be involved in resolving the issue.
Analyze the decision, the Alternatives and Consequences/Option A versus Option B for what should be done. Substantiate your position or beliefs on both sides with at least two rationales. Include references that support your rationales.
Choose an action as a Resolution of the dilemma. Summarize what steps you believe are best. Relate the steps to previous readings.
Sample Answer
Ethical Dilemma Paper
The topic I select is Organ donation. With the improvement of technology, health care professionals, researchers and scientists have established new means of refining the quality of life between individuals. Improvement has been witnessed in the medical practices, one among them being organ transplant and donation (Purwaningsih, 2020). With the improvement, the patients suffering from vital organ failure can now receive new organs to enable them to live longer. As much as organ donation and transplant have been confirmed to significantly enhance the quality of life for patients with fatal illnesses, practice similarly comes with many repercussions and risks. Whereas there’s an increase in requests for these particular life-saving organs, few organs are accessible for donation. This has led to an increase in crimes like human trafficking, kidnapping, and organ trade, all in a bid to harvest body organs for sale. Voluntary organ donation has become popular as people opt to offer their organs to family members; though, this isn’t a common occurrence. All in all, organ donation has been seen faced with lots of dilemmas. This paper seeks to explore both sides of organ donation as an ethical dilemma in a healthcare setting.
Ethical Dilemma
Question: Should a Parent be forced to Donate an Organ to save their Kid’s Life?
Joe, who is suffering from kidney failure requires to complete a kidney transplant to enhance his health. For the transplant to occur, Joe will need kidney donations from his family members. His family gathered for a meeting and agreed that Joe’s mother must donate her kidney because she is a close member. Joe’s mother is afraid of the donation process, though she fears losing her son. She’s much aware of the dangers she will be subjecting her life to by undertaking such surgery. She would love to save her kid’s life without necessarily donating the kidney. She requires making a decision, and there’s no time. In such a scenario, Joe’s mother is undergoing pressure, and in a usual circumstance, she wouldn’t be willing to experience such a process that could alter her health. It’s even more disturbing to know that the success of this transplant isn’t guaranteed whatsoever.
Stakeholders
In Joe’s scenario, the health care professionals, family, the organ donor, and the recipient will be elaborate in the process of decision-making (Zimmermann et al., 2019). In this case, a doctor is required to afford adequate information to stakeholders elaborate enable them to make informed decisions. For example, the doctor should enlighten the donor and the recipient on risks elaborate and success rates of the procedure. By doing so, donors and recipients are aware of what they’re getting themselves to. This permits the donor to decide if they will go through the procedure or not. As a result, thus their right to autonomy and decision-making is sustained. The whole family must similarly be informed on organ donation counting, spelling out ethical principles overriding practice. They, therefore, can afford the donor a chance to make a decision autonomously.
Alternatives and Consequences
The decision to continue with the transplant will help enhance the recipient’s health if the process is successful. If all donors and recipients are inspected and cleared to be in good shape in terms of physical and mental, the transplant will occur. The recipient will have a new life, and the entire family will be gratified. Though, in case the surgery is not a success, both donor and recipient will lose lives. It’s thus essential that the doctor accountable assesses to guarantee the outcome of this particular decision poses slight harm to all parties in harmony with beneficence. If the donor decides not to continue with the process, it’s significant that her wishes are appreciated, and another solution is sought. This would involve patients’ palliative care or organ donation from an alternative individual who could be more willing. No individual must be put in a position where they may compromise good health saving a life. I, therefore, would go for the second option.
