Assignment Task

The goal of this assessment is to recognise and become attuned to the legal requirements and moral/ethical aspects of everyday care and to consider your role as a healthcare student and future healthcare professional. The focus is on the application of legal principles, moral/ethical theory and ethical healthcare practice. Moral justification is important in moral decision making. Apply legal principles, ethical principles, moral theory, virtue ethics, and an ethic of care to frame your answers. Use high-quality references (Example: Peer-reviewed journal articles from the last 5 years, Legislation, Standards and Codes) to support your points.

Choose three (3) of the case narratives from the five (5) below and answer the corresponding questions for the narratives you have chosen. Your task is to carefully consider the narrative from multiple perspectives and answer the question in relation to the specifics within the narrative and the relevant legal and ethical concepts using a reasoned approach. 

The choice of which three (3) narratives to answer is up to you. These narratives may apply to a multitude of professional health disciplines including physiotherapy, nursing, medicine, pharmacy, psychology and counselling, to accommodate your ability to consider the legal and ethical principles related to your own discipline. Ensure that you have reviewed the marking rubric and have met the requirements of the assessment.

Case Narrative 

1. Annabelle is a 15-year-old girl who approaches a health professional for advice and recommendations, as she is not sure who or where to turn to. Annabelle proceeds that she needs to obtain the ‘morning after’ pill as she is concerned that after having unprotected sex with her boyfriend, she may be pregnant. Annabelle is not taking regular oral contraceptives. Annabelle shares that her parents (who access the same GP as Annabelle does) are ‘very religious’ and ‘don’t believe in premarital sex’, hence her seeking outside support and information. Annabelle further states that her parents would be ‘disgusted’ if they found out she was seeking the morning after pill and would disown her. Annabelle has researched social media and online materials and has determined that there are no negative short (apart from a potential headache) or long term health consequences for her if she takes the pill. She tells the health professional that ‘one of her friends has had the morning after pill and she was fine’, and she wants to have it too, just in case.

• What are three key legal and ethical concerns raised in Annabelle’s case? Are there multiple perspectives to consider?

2. Your manager calls for an urgent staff meeting and reports that a complaint has been made by the family of a patient. The family were in the lift going to visit their family member in hospital, when two healthcare professionals also stepped into the lift. Both the healthcare professionals appeared to be returning from their lunch break and had been complaining about their afternoon duties, because they had a difficult patient to care for.

Whilst the two healthcare professionals were discussing the patient in quiet voices, negative comments about the patient were made, such as their diagnosis, the patient’s lack of interest in their treatment and their rudeness. The healthcare professionals referred to the patient as bed 7. When the lift opened to the ward, the healthcare professionals entered the same ward that the family were entering, who were shocked to see their loved one in bed 7. The family are extremely upset about the comments made about their loved one, as the patient has a cognitive impairment – they often get confused and agitated, especially since they are in a new environment.

• Reflect upon the case study above and use an ethical decision-making framework to determine the next steps, highlighting at least three key relevant legal and ethical concerns

3. Richard is a 46-year-old male who was diagnosed 3 years ago with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). Last year, Richard’s condition deteriorated and after discussions with his family, neurologist and GP, Richard completed an Advanced Care Planning. The document clearly states that if his health deteriorates, Richard does not want any life prolonging intervention or specific treatments to prolong life – such as admission to intensive care.

This morning, Richard’s husband found him confused and disorientated with a high fever and rapid breathing. He called an ambulance, and Richard was transferred to the emergency department, along with a copy of his Advance Care Plan. In the emergency department, Richard is unable to effectively communicate because of their current acute illness. Richard’s husband explains to the health professionals that he had in recent times come to terms with their diagnosis, and that Richard was looking forward to the upcoming birth of their first niece in approximately 5 months and an interstate family holiday after that. Richard’s husband expressed that he thought Richard would want to be treated for their severe chest infection, as the antibiotic therapy was likely to be effective.

• In light of Richard’s written direction in the Advance Care Plan, which is now 1 year old, that refused intensive care treatment, analyse and discuss at least three relevant ethical and legal considerations that the team of health professionals must assess to determine their next steps.

4. Luis is 94 years old, he has Type 2 diabetes which sometimes requires insulin, he has cardiac medical history and lower limb weakness following a stroke. Luis lives in Residential Aged Care (RAC). Luis has advised the RAC Facility and its staff verbally and in writing that he does not want staff waking him in the morning to test his blood glucose levels. Luis justifies his request by explaining that he has trouble getting to sleep at night and has always enjoyed sleeping in, he always eats breakfast late and believes early testing is pointless. Luis has been awoken with a sharp sting on his toe at 0610 by a night shift nurse testing his blood glucose level. When questioned by Luis, the nurse advises him that they needed to test the blood glucose early as it was likely to be a busy morning and they were making sure it didn’t get missed because some staff would be off that morning attending mandatory training.

• Reflect upon Luis’s case study above and discuss at least three legal and ethical theory and obligations in relation to the clinician’s rationale, supported by references.

5. You are at work in an ACT public hospital when a colleague, Maria, joins you for lunch and takes a bottle of antibiotic eye drops out of his pocket and begins to administer the drops into their (L) eye which appears red and puffy causing them to squint. Maria explains that their eye has been getting worse over the shift, their vision is affected and that they know it is just conjunctivitis, but they do not have time to go to the doctors. Maria states to you, “I have had this problem before, there are plenty of these antibiotic eye drops on the shelf in the medication room, no one will miss it and if I start it now, I will be OK for tomorrow and will not have to call in sick!”

• From the perspective of your discipline, consider the actions of Maria, your colleague, and identify at least three key areas of concern and discuss potential outcomes within ethical and regulatory frameworks.