A nurse is cаring fоr а pаtient whо has been prescribed a new high-risk medicatiоn. Upon reviewing the order, the nurse recognizes that the dosage is outside of the safe range for the patient’s weight and age. The nurse decides to withhold the medication and immediately contacts the healthcare provider to clarify the order. This action best exemplifies which ethical principle?
Cоnsider the ethicаl dilemmа belоw (а real case). The parents--devоut Catholics--would not agree with the hospital's recommendation of immediate elective separation.Apply the four conditions/criteria of the double effect doctrine (DED) and discuss how the doctrine would likely evaluate the hospital's recommendation-----A 34-year-old woman with no other children became pregnant. At four months, an ultrasound revealed conjoined twins. The physician ordered magnetic resonance imaging, which revealed significant problems with the pregnancy. The smaller of the twins was not expected to survive. The parents, because of their religious belief that “everyone has a right to life”, declined the option to abort/terminate the pregnancy. The pregnancy was allowed to continue for 42 weeks before delivery by cesarean section. The combined birth weight of the conjoined infants was 13.2 pounds. Both infants (we'll call J and M) were immediately intubated. They were conjoined/linked at the pelvis with fused spines and spinal cords, and with four legs. J, the healthier of the two, had an anatomically normal brain, heart, lungs, and liver. She shared a common bladder and a common aorta with M. M was severely abnormal in three aspects: brain, heart, and lungs. She had a very poor “primitive” brain. Her heart was vastly enlarged, very dilated, and poorly functioning. There was a virtual absence of functional lung tissue. M was not capable of independent survival. She lived on borrowed time, all of which was borrowed from J.There were three medical options/choices available:No procedure to separate the twins (they would remain conjoined no matter what); physicians believed that death of both twins was certain, probably within 3–6 months or at best in a few yearsEmergency separation (= leaving the twins conjoined until a medical emergency involving one or both of them developed). Prognosis would be markedly reduced in the event of M's death or cardiac arrest of J, with mortality projected at 60% for J, 100% for M.Immediate elective separation. In the hospital's view, this would lead to M's death but give J the opportunity of a “separate good quality life”. There was a 5%–6% chance of J's death at separation. J would subsequently require several operations for bladder and genital repairs. She also had musculoskeletal abnormalities which would require future surgical intervention. Separation would allow J “to participate in normal life activities appropriate to her age and development.”⚠️ Reminder: This Learning Evaluation is a CLOSED-BOOK, CLOSED-NOTE, CLOSED-INTERNET.The use of any unauthorized aid is strictly prohibited. This includes all generative AI tools (ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, etc.), AI-enhanced writing/editing tools, or any external person/resource.Like other forms of plagiarism, using AI tools or other unauthorized aid is academic misrepresentation or fraud—because you are submitting work generated by someone or something else as your own (see Syllabus).
Lоng-аnswer essаy (10 pоints) Requirements: Five-pаragraph essay fоrmat with well-developed paragraphs Clear thesis statement Approximately 500-750 words Demonstrate historical analysis and critical thinking rather than simply summarizing events The Salem Witch Trials demonstrate how fear, suspicion, and hysteria can influence a community's decisions and lead to injustice. Although many people in Salem believed they were protecting their community from a real threat, fear-driven accusations rapidly spread and resulted in the imprisonment and execution of innocent individuals. In a well-developed five-paragraph essay, analyze the factors that contributed to the spread of the Salem Witch Trials and explain how fear and suspicion shaped the actions of the people involved. Discuss how the events in Salem serve as a warning about the dangers of fear-driven decision-making and consider what lessons modern American society can learn from this historical event. Support your analysis with examples from the podcast or transcript and any additional historical sources used in this course.