PROJECT 1: THE PATIENTS' BILL OF RIGHTS SCENARIO
Assignment Directions:
Assessment
In the first lesson, you were given the five scenarios below that relate to The Patients' Bill of Rights. Read and analyze each scenario and decide what you think is the correct thing to do in each situation. You will need to explain your choice. Describe how you came to this conclusion and what challenges your decision will present.
Please complete your assignment in essay format. You may consult outside sources. If you do, you will need to include references.
1. You are working in a medical office and learn that an 18-year-old college student is keeping something very important from her parents. You see her mother sitting in the waiting room and know that she would be able to help and support the girl if she knew about the problem. What can you do?
2. You are a physician and you dread seeing this one patient. She always talks too much and seems to have a new problem every week. You know she is just lonely, but she upsets your schedule and keeps you from seeing other patients who are really sick. What can you do?
3. You are on your lunch break and are sitting in the cafeteria. Your friend from radiology comes by and tells you that he just x-rayed one of your patients. He asks you, "What is the story with her?" What can you do?
4. You are working for an oncologist. There is a patient with cancer that you have grown fond of. She has been doing really well. On this visit, the doctor has to tell her that she has a new tumor. Your heart sinks when you walk her back and stay with her as the doctor gives her the news. She handles it well but tells the doctor that she is not going to go through any more treatment. You know this means she will die. You want to argue with her; you consider calling her family and asking them to help convince her to accept the treatment. What can you do?
5. You are working in the operating room. You have helped a patient get all settled in pre-op and have their paperwork all together to sign. The doctor comes in and tells you to hurry along and go have the patient sign the consent form. You know the doctor has not discussed the risks with the patient but you do not want to argue with him. What can you do?
PROJECT 2: ETHICS AND MORALS
Ethics: What would you do?
Ethical decisions can be very difficult to make. Quite often is it helpful to discuss the situation with a supervisor or another health care professional. For this assignment, you will first compare and contrast ethics and morals. Then you will review four case studies and do some research to try to figure out how to best resolve each ethical dilemma. If you are able to find an adult to work with, that would be helpful.
1. Compare and contrast ethics and morals.
Please include at least two ways that they are alike and two ways that they are different?
2. Case Study 1:
Informed Consent and Police Procedures
The law requires that before receiving treatment or having a procedure, the procedure or treatment must be explained to the patient and the patient must be informed of the risks and possible complications involved. If they understand the treatment or procedure and the risks and still want to move forward, they must sign a document saying that they have been informed and give permission, or consent to the procedure or treatment. Without informed consent, the treatment or the procedure should not be done.
Law enforcement often requires the collection of specimens from accused individuals. This could be the collection of urine, blood, or DNA samples.
• If the patient does not give consent, what can be done?
• What are the moral and ethical issues are involved?
• What would you do?
3. Case Study 2:
Withholding Information
A physician has a patient with terminal cancer. The patient's family has requested that the physician not tell the patient about the diagnosis. The patient is an adult, but the family fears that the diagnosis will make the patient horribly depressed and that he would live out his last days in a happier state if he did not know the end was near.
• What should the physician do?
• What moral or ethical dilemma does the physician face?
• What would you do if you were the physician?
• What should the physician do?
4. Case Study 3:
Parental Decisions to Withhold Care
Parents are responsible for making decisions for their children's medical care. This right extends to refusing or discontinuing medical treatment even if it is life threatening. This right has been challenged and upheld in court. You are working in the emergency room and an ambulance has just brought in a child who has been hit by a car. You recognize the child right away. This is a child from your neighborhood. The parents are not with the child and the child has no identification. The trauma doctor says the child will need blood and when stabilized, will need to go to surgery. You know that the parent's religious beliefs prevent them from agreeing to either procedure. If you tell the ER staff who the patient is, they will call the parents for consent and the child will die. If you do nothing, the child has a chance to make it.
• What is the ethical dilemma in this situation?
• What should you do?
• What would you do?
5. Case Study 4:
Organ Transplantation Recipients
You are a transplant surgeon who is preparing to do a heart transplant on a young mother. The donor has been identified and the organ is being harvested right now. It should be to you within 12 hours. The timing was good. You do not believe that the mother would have lived much longer without the transplant. You know that there are a number of people on the transplant list that will not be so lucky. When you are discussing the procedure with her husband, you realize that she has recently been exposed to her young daughter who has just come down with chickenpox. She has never had chickenpox before and you are concerned. If you convey this information to the transplant team, she will not receive the transplant. The heart will go to the next match on the transplant list. There is no real reason to expect that she will become ill. However, if she does, it is not likely that she will be able to overcome the virus with the anti-rejection drugs she will be given. She could become very sick and even die. If she does, then the transplant will not go to another.
• What are the ethical issues that you face?
• What should you do?
• What would you do?
Assignment Guidelines
Your response must:
• be written in complete sentences
• reflect your understanding of morals and ethics
• reflect your knowledge of privacy laws
PROJECT 3: DISPOSING OF BIOLOGICAL WASTE
Research and Learn: Disposing of Biological Waste
Health facilities hire biological disposal companies to haul away and dispose of their hazardous biological waste. In health care, you will learn how to properly package the waste for safe disposal. This is where your involvement ends. Did you ever wonder about the following:?
• What happens when the waste is taken away from the health care facility?
• Where is the waste taken?
• How is the waste disposed of?
• How do HAZMAT companies ensure the safety of the public?
For this assignment, you will research and learn about the disposal of biological hazardous waste. After identifying at least three reliable resources, you will create a product that explains the answers to the four questions listed above. You may create a(n):
• video
• essay
• PowerPoint
• blog
• poster (you will need to take a picture of it to submit to your instructor)
• letter to a friend
• creative story
• webpage
Be very careful that you provide complete descriptions to answer the questions. You must demonstrate your understanding of the process in your project. You may use online sources, print sources, or video resources. Please carefully review the rubric to see how you will earn your points.
Keep in mind that Wikipedia, blogs, personal websites, and answer sites are not considered reliable sources. The best websites end in .gov, .edu, or .org.
PROJECT 4: REAL WORLD EXAMPLES
Critical Thinking Assignment: Real World Examples
In a health-care setting, patient and employee safety is very important. Unfortunately, mistakes and accidents happen. For this assignment, you will find two current articles (incidences within the last three years) in print or online that document patient or employee incidents where there was a poor outcome or injury.
Assignment Directions:
You will use your critical thinking skills to:
• Analyze the situation (What were the circumstances?)
• Identify the problem (What went wrong and why?)
• Propose a solution (What should have been done and what can be done to help improve the outcome?)
• Suggest ways for preventing a similar occurrence in the future. (How can we prevent similar situation from occurring in the future?)
You will write your report in paragraph form. Your report must be at least two pages in length (approximately 500 words).