NHS FPX 4000 Assessment 3 Attempt 1 Applying Ethical Principles

Ethics is an inherent and inseparable part of clinical medicine. (Varkey, 2020). Ethical issues often arise in healthcare and medical professionals must know where to look for a problem-solving approach to these dilemmas. There are four widely accepted ethical principles in healthcare – Autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, and justice. These principles act as measuring tools to aid healthcare workers in making moral, principle-based decisions. The best outcomes result from all aspects of a case being taken into consideration. Get Free NHS FPX 4000 Assessment 3 Attempt 1 Applying Ethical Principles

Overview of the Case Study

I chose Incident 10: “To vaccinate or not.” for my case study. In this study I was introduced to Jenna and Chris Smith, proud parents of a healthy, five-day-old baby girl named Ana. Ana’s parents have been very vocal about their desire to raise Ana as naturally as possible. For the Smith’s, that means Ana gets nothing but breast milk for the first six months and then only homemade, organic food to follow. No vaccines. 

NHS FPX 4000 Assessment 3 Attempt 1 Applying Ethical Principles

The Smith’s are college educated and tell their new pediatrician, Dr. Angela Kerr, all about the research they have done on vaccines, including online mommy-blogs that detail how vaccines may have caused autism in children. The Smith’s are adamant that Ana not be vaccinated because they believe that the potential for harm outweighs any benefits, despite the recommendations of the medical community.

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Dr. Angela Kerr acknowledges their concerns and recognizes the controversy that has sparked in recent years, but strongly recommends that Ana become fully vaccinated. Dr. Kerr goes on to explain how vaccines have saved millions of children’s lives and how they are largely responsible for the decrease in child mortality worldwide. She also educates them about the decreased rate of infection with potentially fatal Haemophilus influenzae type b in response to routine immunization. Similarly, how epidemics like the recent outbreak of measles are usually associated with individuals who have not been vaccinated against that pathogen.