Required Resources
Media
• Interactive Media: Virtual Philosopher
This interactive media activity asks a series of question to determine your beliefs, then gives you various situations that test your personal ethics.
Readings
• Course Text: Judson, K., & Harrison, C. (2016). Law and ethics for the health professions. (7th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.
o Chapter 13, “Health Care Trends and Forecasts”
The health care system in the United States has a number of stakeholders. This chapter looks at the various stakeholders and examines the trends that are going to affect the system in the years to come.
• Course Text: Medical Law, Ethics, and Bioethics for the Health Professions
o Chapter 13, “Allocation of Scarce Medical Resources”
This chapter introduces the challenging issue of balancing multiples factors to appropriately allocate scarce medical resources.
• Article: Emanuel, E. J., Wendler, D., & Grady, C. (2000). What makes clinical research ethical? American Medical Association, 283, 2701-2711. Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
Clinical research strives to advance the practice of medicine while maintaining stringent ethical guidelines. This article considers just what makes clinical research ethical.
• Article: Singer, P. (2009, July 19). Why we must ration health care. The New York Times Magazine, 38-43. Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
Health care, like any resource, is in limited supply. This article explores the controversial issue of rationing scarce medical resources.
• Article: Nelson-Marten, P., & Rich, B. (1999). A historical perspective of informed consent in clinical practice and research. Seminars in Oncology Nursing, 15(2), 81-88. Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
Informed consent forms one of the cornerstones of medical practice and research. This article considers informed consent’s role in medical practice and research.
• Article: McManus, J., Mehta, S. G., McClinton, A. R., De Lorenzo, R. A., & Baskin, T. W. (2005). Informed consent and ethical issues in military medical research. Academic Emergency Medicine, 12(11), 1120-6.
Informed Consent and Ethical Issues in Military Medical Research by McManus, J.; Mehta, S.; McClinton, A.; De Lorenzo, R.; Baskin, T., in Academic Emergency Medicine, Vol. 12/Issue 1. Copyright 2005 by John Wiley & Sons – Journals. Reprinted by permission of John Wiley & Sons – Journals via the Copyright Clearance Center.
This article considers the unique position military personnel can occupy, with regard to informed consent and other ethical issues, when involved in medical research.
• Article: National Institutes of Health. (n.d.). Medical research with animals (NIH Publication Number 08-6436). Retrieved from
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/policy/air/AnimalResearchFS06.pdf
This document, prepared by the National Institutes of Health, presents frequently asked questions regarding the ethics of medical research involving animals.
Optional Resources
Media
• Audio Podcast: Conan, N. (2009, November 23). It’s not whether we ration health care, but how [Audio podcast]. Retrieved from
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=120700353
• Audio Podcast: Conan, N. (2010, February 10). How the ethics of triage play out in Haiti [Audio podcast]. Retrieved from
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=123570227
Readings
• Article: Gluck, J., & Bell, J. (2003). Ethical issues in the use of animals in biomedical and psychopharmocological research. Psychopharmacology, 171(1), 6-12.
• Article: U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. (1979). The Belmont report: Ethical principles and guidelines for the protection of human subjects of research (DHEW Publication Number 78-0012). Retrieved from
http://videocast.nih.gov/pdf/ohrp_belmont_report.pdf
Websites
• Stanford Prison Experiment
http://www.prisonexp.org/
***********************ASSIGNMENT*************************
Informed Consent in Practice
Medical decision making can be an extremely challenging experience for patients and their loved ones. Balancing various potential outcomes with levels of risk can be daunting for someone who is also dealing with the emotional stresses of illness. Gaining the patient’s “true” informed consent is a critical step for health care professionals to ensure that the best decisions can be made.
Part 1: SPARK:
Consider your academic studies, and personal and professional experiences to address the following two questions:
-What information do you think should be provided to a surgical patient prior to a surgical procedure?
-Do you healthcare professionals harm patients by causing anxiety and stress when they tell them about the risks associated with a surgical procedure? Why or why not?
Remember, your response to the SPARK should be posted by itself, and does not require any of the readings. However, external sources as additional support are welcome.
To prepare for this week’s Discussion, review this week’s Learning Resources, paying particular attention to the Emanuel article, “What Makes Clinical Research Ethical?”
Also, review the Macklin article from Week 1, “Applying the Four Priniciples” before preparing and posting your discussion response.
By Day 4, respond to the following Park 2: PROMPT:
Post an explanation of how informed consent for medical research (clinical trials) differs from the patient’s consent to treat used in health care practice (e.g., medical treatment or surgery). Explain why you think this difference exists? Provide at least one clear example of how informed consent could be used in medical research and one example of how it is used in health care practice. Then provide an example of each of the four ethical principals in action in research. Use your textbook, the articles in the Learning Resources, and/or other credible resources to support your answer.
Post must be 300 words each part.
