Ethical and Spiritual Decision Making in Health Care
Ethical and Spiritual Decision Making in Health Care Essay
Ethical and Spiritual Decision Making in Health Care Essay

This assignment will incorporate a common practical tool in helping clinicians begin to ethically analyze a case. Organizing the data in this way will help you apply the four principles of principlism.

Based on the “Case Study: Healing and Autonomy” and other required topic study materials, you will complete the “Applying the Four Principles: Case Study” document that includes the following:

Part 1: Chart

This chart will formalize principlism and the four-boxes approach by organizing the data from the case study according to the relevant principles of biomedical ethics: autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, and justice. Ethical and Spiritual Decision Making in Health Care Essay

Part 2: Evaluation

This part includes questions, to be answered in a total of 500 words, that describe how principalism would be applied according to the Christian worldview.

Remember to support your responses with the topic study materials.

Applying the Four Principles: Case Study

Part 1: Chart (60 points)
Based on the “Healing and Autonomy” case study, fill out all the relevant boxes below. Provide the information by means of bullet points or a well-structured paragraph in the box. Gather as much data as possible. Ethical and Spiritual Decision Making in Health Care Essay

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Medical Indications
Beneficence and Nonmaleficence

Patient Preferences
Autonomy

· James is suck and suffers from an acute case of kidney failure.
· His care was delayed as his parents relied on faith and took him away from hospital.

· His condition has worsened following the delayed treatment.

· He requires regular dialysis in order to continue surviving.

· He requires a healthy kidney transplant in order to conclusively address his condition with no reoccurrence or continued kidney difficulties.Ethical and Spiritual Decision Making in Health Care Essay

· James’ twin brother (Samuel) could be an ideal organ transplant match, and could be a donor for the transplant surgery.

· James getting well so that his kidney is no longer diseased.
· Rely on the power of religious faith to heal James, and not rely on medical treatment.

· Not having to harvest the organ from Samuel for James.

Quality of Life
Beneficence, Nonmaleficence, Autonomy

Contextual Features
Justice and Fairness

· James’ situation appears grim since he currently relies on regular dialysis and will continue this reliance unless he can get a healthy kidney transplant.
· His condition initially loosened but has stabilized following the regular dialysis.

· His parents feel it is appropriate to consult him on whether to explore the surgery option and if Samuel can be considered as a donor since they feel that he has a say in the issue, and their previous decision to withdraw him from treatment worsened the medical condition.

· The parents are questioning their decisions, and whether it caused the medical condition to worsen.
· The parents are questioning if their faith was not enough or if they were meant to seek medical treatment for James and that their procrastination had worsened the condition.

· They are exploring the possibility of faith working, and are continuing with faith-based approaches alongside medical intervention.Ethical and Spiritual Decision Making in Health Care Essay

Part 2: Evaluation
Answer each of the following questions about how principlism would be applied:

In 200-250 words answer the following: According to the Christian worldview, which of the four principles is most pressing in this case? Explain why. (45 points)
According to the Christian worldview, the most pressing principle in the present case is medical indication. James is in a precarious situation. His medical condition has worsened and he has become increasingly reliant on regular dialysis. He can only get off the dialysis by receiving a kidney transplant. He is likely to die if he stops receiving dialysis and does not get a healthy kidney. The Bible supports this view by indicating that the most important value for any Christian is to love himself/herself and to love others with the same measure. In this case, love applies to meeting all the associated needs of the individual, a value that every Christian must apply.Ethical and Spiritual Decision Making in Health Care Essay. For that matter, loving an individual involves providing the basic needs that include food, clothing, shelter and medical care. For the persons who are without food, loving them implies providing food, and for those who are sick, loving them involving relieving the sickness. James is sick and loving him would involve providing healing, something that could only proceed after medical indication. The medical facility and personnel are specifically prepared to determine and provide James’ health care needs. This means that it is present that have James follow the advice offered by medical personnel who are uniquely primed to provide the healing he needs. Providing medical care implies loving James as indicated in the Bible (James 5:14, KJV). Besides that, Jesus Christ was a healer in the Bible, and there are stories of him healing the sick. This validates medical care as it can be argued that since Christ was a physician, then medicine should be accepted by Christians (Mark 8:2, KJV; Matthew 25:36, KJV). In addition, the Bible asks that Christians provide relief for everyone who is suffering. James is suffering with failing kidney and there is a high possibility of his condition worsening if he does not receive the appropriate medical care. Receiving medical care will alleviate his diseased condition, relieve the suffering, and provide healing (Matthew 25:40, KJV). Overall, the most pressing principle is medical indication since there is a need to understanding James’ health condition and provide the appropriate healing.Ethical and Spiritual Decision Making in Health Care Essay

In 200-250 words answer the following: According to the Christian worldview, how might a Christian rank the priority of the four principles? Explain why. (45 points)
According to the Christian worldview, medical indication should be prioritized among the four principles. The Christian religion attaches much importance to compassion and love, especially for the vulnerable persons who are unable to take care of themselves and need care from others. Christianity does not allow for unnecessary suffering, something that must be controlled since James is experiencing unnecessary suffering. James has failing kidneys and they are causing him to suffer unnecessarily, and yet medical care can alleviate his condition (Matthew 22:39, KJV; 1 John 4:7, KJV). The second principle in the order of priority is the quality of life. James is heavily dependent on dialysis to continue surviving. This implies that he has a low quality of life and he could lose his life if the situation continues. Christians have an obligation to apply proportional measures to improve the quality of life of those who are sick and suffering (Igboin, 2015). Although Christianity allows for suffering as a part of life, it does not allow for unnecessary suffering. Just means should always be used to relieve unnecessary suffering.Ethical and Spiritual Decision Making in Health Care Essay. Life is given by God and it is right that James suffering should be relieved. Using medical care is a just means for relieving James’ suffering and improving his quality of life. The third principle in the order of priority is patient preference. James must always be allowed to make decisions involving his life. Christianity advocates for freewill, and states that every person will be judged for his/her actions. The decision about medical care should be left to James with the appropriate advice provided so that he is enabled to make an informed decision(Carden, 2013; Newton, 2015). The fourth principle in the order of priority is contextual features. That is because they inform the prevailing situation. Irrespective of whether or not questions about faith are presented, the situation demands that an urgent decision be made about James’ care. He is suffering and needs medical attention in order to alleviate his situation. The medical personnel can only offer advice and information to facilitate informed decision making *Heinrichs, Oser&Lovat, 2013).Ethical and Spiritual Decision Making in Health Care Essay
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References:
Carden, P. (2013). Rose Bible basics: Christianity, cults & religion (7thed.). Carson, CA: Rose Publishing Inc.

Heinrichs, K., Oser, F. &Lovat, T. (2013). Handbook of moral motivation: theories, models, and applications. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers.

Igboin, B. (2015). Spirituality and medical practice: a Christian perspective. Indian Journal of Medical Ethics, 12(4). DOI: 10.20529/IJME.2015.054

Newton, J. (2015). The revelation worldview: apocalyptic thinking in a postmodern world. Eugene, OR: WIPF & STOCK. Ethical and Spiritual Decision Making in Health Care Essay