PHI 413 Ethical and Spiritual Decision Making in Health Care
PHI 413 Ethical and Spiritual Decision Making in Health Care
When people seek medical attention to health care issues they face, it is possible that they would lose their Christian values based on the severity of their diagnoses and potential treatment interventions. Some may reject the diagnoses outright based on the Christian faith, especially when their faiths do not advocate for such interventions. In this case study, George has discovered through his physician that he has amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). This condition gradually and progressively degenerates the ability of muscles to function optimally in the body. The disease is chronic or terminal and leads to death as it reduces like expectancy to between three and four years. George knows that in due time, he will not speak, move, or eat and even breathe because of the deterioration that his body muscle will endure in due course (Choudry et al., 2018). Unfortunately, George will know the things that will happen to him in the process of his slow death yet not in a position to discuss it with anyone. Because of this revelation, George contemplates voluntary euthanasia, yet he is a Christian and believes in the existence of God.
Despite this belief in God, he also knows that the world has both good and evil ways and choices. Like other Christians, George needs to pray for strength and guidance from God. God is present in all situations and all the time. He surrounds believers and offers protection when they face difficult situations that are beyond their control. As a Christian, George should view God as the creator of the universe and giver of all situations (Devilliers, 2016). Imperatively, he should interpret his diagnosis from the perspective of God, trying to show his power and authority in his life. God opens his doors and blessings as well as miracles to those who are ready and have a firm belief in him in their lives. It is also important to note that all are created differently and uniquely based on their abilities and thinking. Therefore, human beings should take care of their lives and never take their life for granted. In this situation, George must be objective and cast his worries to God and follow the advice from his physician as a Christian.
Spiritual needs of patients demonstrate their preferences and perceptions about healthcare delivery and its significance in their lives. The case study on “Healing and Autonomy” involves the decisions that Mike and Joanne make concerning the treatment of their son James diagnosed by glomerulonephritis and requires kidney transplant. Based on their religious and spiritual beliefs and practices, they choose to forego interventions like dialysis leading to the worsening of his condition as they place their faith and trust in God for his healing. The worsened condition forces them to get back to the hospital and the physician recommends the need for kidney transplant with James’ brother’s kidney being the match. However, the parents are reluctant to have Samuel donate the kidney for his brother. The purpose of this essay is to discuss the significance of spiritual needs for the parents and offer reflection based on Christian perspective about issues surrounding the scenario.
Allowing Mike to Make Irrational Decisions
Physicians have an obligation to respect patient autonomy as part of the bioethical principles in care provision. Autonomy entails the rights of patients to make decisions and choices concerning their treatment and medical care without any influence from the provider. James is a minor in this case and the parents make the decisions on his behalf. Autonomy is essential in this case and whatever choices and decisions that the parents make, the physician should not stop them, even when they appear irrational from a medical perspective. Patient autonomy means that Mike and Joanne should be the sole decision-makers in this case (Sledge et al., 2022). However, they can make such decisions based on information provided by the physician.
Healthcare providers should offer information and education to patients so that they make informed decisions. While the physician has an ethical obligation to respect the decision, he should use his expertise to offer sufficient education and information about the dangers of declining treatment interventions like the dialysis and the recommended surgical process. The physician must emphasize that the decisions Mike is making are irrational and continue to harm James. The physician should demonstrate using scientific evidence that Mike is making wrong decisions that are detrimental to the overall quality of life for his son James. However, the physician should not impose anything on Mike but should appreciate that they have a different perspective about the treatment of their boy.
Week 1 Discussion
DQ1 What would spirituality be according to your own worldview? How do you believe that your conception of spirituality would influence the way in which you care for patients?
DQ2 What aspects of the topic readings do you find the most interesting? What is your view of the analysis of disease and healing in the readings? Explain.
PHI 413 Ethical and Spiritual Decision Making in Health Care
Week 2 Discussion
DQ1 What is the Christian concept of the imago Dei? How might it be important to health care, and why is it relevant?
DQ2 According to your worldview, what value does a human person have? How does your position affect your stance on controversial bioethical issues, such as abortion, designer babies, and stem cell research?
PHI 413 Ethical and Spiritual Decision Making in Health Care
Week 3 Discussion
DQ1 Principlism, especially in the context of bioethics in the United States, has often been critiqued for raising the principle of autonomy to the highest place, such that it trumps all other principles or values. How would you rank the importance of each of the four principles? How do you believe they would be ordered in the context of the Christian biblical narrative? Refer to the topic overview and other topic study materials in your response.
DQ2 What do the four parts of the Christian biblical narrative (i.e., creation, fall, redemption, and restoration) say about the nature of God and of reality in relation to the reality of sickness and disease? From where would one find comfort and hope in the light of illness according to this narrative? Explain in detail each part of the narrative above and analyze the implications.
PHI 413 Ethical and Spiritual Decision Making in Health Care
Week 4 Discussion
DQ1 How often do you engage with or witness death in your work? How has this experience or the lack of it shaped your view of death? Has it gotten easier or harder for you to accept the fact of death? As you explain, include your clinical specialty.
DQ2 Reflect on the analysis of the sin of suicide and, thus, euthanasia from the topic readings. Do you agree? Why or why not? Refer to the lecture and topic readings in your response
PHI 413 Ethical and Spiritual Decision Making in Health Care
Week 5 Discussion
DQ1 What is your definition of spiritual care? How does it differ or accord with the description given in the topic readings? Explain.
DQ2 When it comes to facilitating spiritual care for patients with worldviews different from your own, what are your strengths and weaknesses? If you were the patient, who would have the final say in terms of ethical decision-making and intervention in the event of a difficult situation?
PHI 413 Ethical and Spiritual Decision Making in Health Care
Week 1 Assignment
PHI413 Full Course (September 2019)
Worldview Analysis and Personal Inventory
Based on the required topic study materials, write a reflection about worldview and respond to following:
In 250-300 words, explain the Christian perspective of the nature of spirituality and ethics in contrast to the perspective of postmodern relativism within health care.
In 250-300 words, explain what scientism is and describe two of the main arguments against it.
In 750-1,000 words, answer each of the worldview questions according to your own personal perspective and worldview: (a) What is ultimate reality? (b) What is the nature of the universe? (c) What is a human being? (d) What is knowledge? (e) What is your basis of ethics? (f) What is the purpose of your existence?
Remember to support your reflection with the topic study materials.
While APA style is not required for the body of this assignment, solid academic writing is expected, and documentation of sources should be presented using APA formatting guidelines, which can be found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center.
This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.
You are required to submit this assignment to LopesWrite. Refer to the LopesWrite Technical Support articles for assistance.
PHI 413 Ethical and Spiritual Decision Making in Health Care
Week 2 Assignment
Case Study on Moral Status
Based on “Case Study: Fetal Abnormality” and other required topic study materials, write a 750-1,000-word reflection that answers the following questions:
What is the Christian view of the nature of human persons, and which theory of moral status is it compatible with? How is this related to the intrinsic human value and dignity?
Which theory or theories are being used by Jessica, Marco, Maria, and Dr. Wilson to determine the moral status of the fetus? What from the case study specifically leads you to believe that they hold the theory you selected?
How does the theory determine or influence each of their recommendations for action?
What theory do you agree with? Why? How would that theory determine or influence the recommendation for action?
Remember to support your responses with the topic study materials.
While APA style is not required for the body of this assignment, solid academic writing is expected, and documentation of sources should be presented using APA formatting guidelines, which can be found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center.
This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.
You are required to submit this assignment to LopesWrite. Refer to the LopesWrite Technical Support articles for assistance.
PHI 413 Ethical and Spiritual Decision Making in Health Care
Week 3 Assignment
Case Study on Biomedical Ethics in the Christian Narrative
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.
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.
APA style is not required, but solid academic writing is expected.
You are required to submit this assignment to LopesWrite. Refer to the LopesWrite Technical Support articles for assistance.
PHI 413 Ethical and Spiritual Decision Making in Health Care
Week 4 Assignment
Case Study on Death and Dying
The practice of health care providers at all levels brings you into contact with people from a variety of faiths. This calls for knowledge and understanding of a diversity of faith expressions; for the purpose of this course, the focus will be on the Christian worldview.
Based on “Case Study: End of Life Decisions,” the Christian worldview, and the worldview questions presented in the required topic study materials you will complete an ethical analysis of George’s situation and his decision from the perspective of the Christian worldview.
Provide a 1,500-2,000-word ethical analysis while answering the following questions:
How would George interpret his suffering in light of the Christian narrative, with an emphasis on the fallenness of the world?
How would George interpret his suffering in light of the Christian narrative, with an emphasis on the hope of resurrection?
As George contemplates life with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), how would the Christian worldview inform his view about the value of his life as a person?
What sorts of values and considerations would the Christian worldview focus on in deliberating about whether or not George should opt for euthanasia?
Given the above, what options would be morally justified in the Christian worldview for George and why?
Based on your worldview, what decision would you make if you were in George’s situation?
Remember to support your responses with the topic study materials.
Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center. An abstract is required.
This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.
You are required to submit this assignment to LopesWrite. Refer to the LopesWrite Technical Support articles for assistance.
PHI 413 Ethical and Spiritual Decision Making in Health Care
Week 5 Assignment
Benchmark – Patient’s Spiritual Needs: Case Analysis
In addition to the topic study materials, use the chart you completed and questions you answered in the Topic 3 about “Case Study: Healing and Autonomy” as the basis for your responses in this assignment.
Answer the following questions about a patient’s spiritual needs in light of the Christian worldview.
In 200-250 words, respond to the following: Should the physician allow Mike to continue making decisions that seem to him to be irrational and harmful to James, or would that mean a disrespect of a patient’s autonomy? Explain your rationale.
In 400-500 words, respond to the following: How ought the Christian think about sickness and health? How should a Christian think about medical intervention? What should Mike as a Christian do? How should he reason about trusting God and treating James in relation to what is truly honoring the principles of beneficence and nonmaleficence in James’s care?
In 200-250 words, respond to the following: How would a spiritual needs assessment help the physician assist Mike determine appropriate interventions for James and for his family or others involved in his care?
Remember to support your responses with the topic study materials.
While APA style is not required for the body of this assignment, solid academic writing is expected, and documentation of sources should be presented using APA formatting guidelines, which can be found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center.
This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.
You are required to submit this assignment to LopesWrite. Refer to the LopesWrite Technical Support articles for assistance.
This benchmark assignment assesses the following competencies:
BS Nursing (RN to BSN)
5.2: Assess for the spiritual needs and provide appropriate interventions for individuals, families, and groups.
You must proofread your paper. But do not strictly rely on your computer’s spell-checker and grammar-checker; failure to do so indicates a lack of effort on your part and you can expect your grade to suffer accordingly. Papers with numerous misspelled words and grammatical mistakes will be penalized. Read over your paper – in silence and then aloud – before handing it in and make corrections as necessary. Often it is advantageous to have a friend proofread your paper for obvious errors. Handwritten corrections are preferable to uncorrected mistakes.
Use a standard 10 to 12 point (10 to 12 characters per inch) typeface. Smaller or compressed type and papers with small margins or single-spacing are hard to read. It is better to let your essay run over the recommended number of pages than to try to compress it into fewer pages.
Likewise, large type, large margins, large indentations, triple-spacing, increased leading (space between lines), increased kerning (space between letters), and any other such attempts at “padding” to increase the length of a paper are unacceptable, wasteful of trees, and will not fool your professor.
The paper must be neatly formatted, double-spaced with a one-inch margin on the top, bottom, and sides of each page. When submitting hard copy, be sure to use white paper and print out using dark ink. If it is hard to read your essay, it will also be hard to follow your argument.
ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE CLASS
Discussion Questions (DQ)
Initial responses to the DQ should address all components of the questions asked, include a minimum of one scholarly source, and be at least 250 words.
Successful responses are substantive (i.e., add something new to the discussion, engage others in the discussion, well-developed idea) and include at least one scholarly source.
One or two sentence responses, simple statements of agreement or “good post,” and responses that are off-topic will not count as substantive. Substantive responses should be at least 150 words.
I encourage you to incorporate the readings from the week (as applicable) into your responses.
Weekly Participation
Your initial responses to the mandatory DQ do not count toward participation and are graded separately.
In addition to the DQ responses, you must post at least one reply to peers (or me) on three separate days, for a total of three replies.
Participation posts do not require a scholarly source/citation (unless you cite someone else’s work).
Part of your weekly participation includes viewing the weekly announcement and attesting to watching it in the comments. These announcements are made to ensure you understand everything that is due during the week.
APA Format and Writing Quality
Familiarize yourself with APA format and practice using it correctly. It is used for most writing assignments for your degree. Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for APA paper templates, citation examples, tips, etc. Points will be deducted for poor use of APA format or absence of APA format (if required).
Cite all sources of information! When in doubt, cite the source. Paraphrasing also requires a citation.
I highly recommend using the APA Publication Manual, 6th edition.
Use of Direct Quotes
I discourage overutilization of direct quotes in DQs and assignments at the Masters’ level and deduct points accordingly.
As Masters’ level students, it is important that you be able to critically analyze and interpret information from journal articles and other resources. Simply restating someone else’s words does not demonstrate an understanding of the content or critical analysis of the content.
It is best to paraphrase content and cite your source.
LopesWrite Policy
For assignments that need to be submitted to LopesWrite, please be sure you have received your report and Similarity Index (SI) percentage BEFORE you do a “final submit” to me.
Once you have received your report, please review it. This report will show you grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors that can easily be fixed. Take the extra few minutes to review instead of getting counted off for these mistakes.
Review your similarities. Did you forget to cite something? Did you not paraphrase well enough? Is your paper made up of someone else’s thoughts more than your own?
Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for tips on improving your paper and SI score.
Late Policy
The university’s policy on late assignments is 10% penalty PER DAY LATE. This also applies to late DQ replies.
Please communicate with me if you anticipate having to submit an assignment late. I am happy to be flexible, with advance notice. We may be able to work out an extension based on extenuating circumstances.
If you do not communicate with me before submitting an assignment late, the GCU late policy will be in effect.
I do not accept assignments that are two or more weeks late unless we have worked out an extension.
As per policy, no assignments are accepted after the last day of class. Any assignment submitted after midnight on the last day of class will not be accepted for grading.
Communication
Communication is so very important. There are multiple ways to communicate with me:Questions to Instructor Forum: This is a great place to ask course content or assignment questions. If you have a question, there is a good chance one of your peers does as well. This is a public forum for the class.
Individual Forum: This is a private forum to ask me questions or send me messages. This will be checked at least once every 24 hours.
