Assessment Task 3
Question
1. Access to healthcare should be restricted for people that do not participate in a national vaccination program.
Information for assignment.
In the essay you must offer a “balanced view” of the topic, which means that you must include alternative ethical perspectives that may not match your ultimate ethical stance but require consideration. You are not being asked to write an unsubstantiated opinion piece but are developing a logical evidenced ethical position.
Start with a clear introduction that tells the reader what to expect. A good introduction contains:
• Some
ief background information on the ethical importance of the topic.
• A clear thesis-statement, where you tell the reader
iefly where your ultimate ethical stance
on the issue. Frame this in a way which ‘advises the reader where your argument is going to end up’ – for example “A range of ethical arguments will be presented to support the assertion that…..” (Note: You should not even determine your ethical stance (intro & conclusion) until you have written the body of your essay. Don’t go in with pre-conceived assumptions).
The body of your essay:
• This is where you explore in detail how each of the bioethical principles relates to the topic
of your essay. This may ultimately support your central argument, or it may be presenting alternate/opposing views (all should be included).
i. Autonomy: Is the patient’s autonomy being respected or not? Can it be respected? Are there challenges in supporting this ethical principle?
ii. Beneficence: Is the intention to achieve the best possible outcome for the patient? Are there challenges in supporting this ethical principle?
iii. Non-Maleficence: Is un-necessary harm to the patient being avoided? Is it necessary to ‘harm’ the patient? Are there challenges in supporting this ethical principle?
iv. Justice: Are patients receiving equitable care regarding their needs and the available resources? Are there valid reasons for treating certain patients inequitably?
• In the body of the essay, you also need to include discussion of other ethical concepts such as human dignity, veracity, codes of ethics, and professional codes of conduct. Ideally, these are integrated through the discussion.
• At some point you will have to justify the values judgment that you make in determining what takes ethical precedence, and why you may have to compromise on any of the four bioethical principles. This is where the other ethical theories become useful.
i. Utilitarian thinking: Are you aiming for the best possible outcome for the greatest good
enefits for the greatest number? Can you demonstrate ethically that it is, indeed, a “good” outcome?
ii. Deontological thinking: Is there a duty or rule that necessitates or fo
ids a particular type of action? Can you explain why this duty exists?
iii. Virtue-Ethics thinking: Does the proposed action conform to what we might expect of the moral character virtues of health-care professionals?
iv. Ethics-of-Care thinking: Is the patient being consulted with a benevolent attitude, and is there sufficient dialogue with the patient to work out what is morally best in his or her specific situation? Is there potential for conflict with any general rules of moral conduct?
v. Natural Law: Are there applicable universal and objective moral norms to which each person, when acting reasonably and responsibly, should respond?
Your conclusion should summarise and round-off your discussion on the topic. You should:
· Concisely summarise how your ideas collectively support your ethical stance
· State your ethical stance. Frame this in stronger language than in the introduction – for
example “…as demonstrated in the ethical arguments presented, it is/is not….”.
· offer some
ief concluding remarks on the topic.
Length
1500 words +/- 10% (includes intext citations)
task
In relation to your selected topic:
Consider the application of the bioethical principles that have been discussed in the unit.
· Consider the application of ethical theories and other ethical concepts to
the chosen topic.
· Based on the evidence, construct a written discussion that clearly presents
these ethical considerations and the ethical dilemma/s. You need to
present multiple perspectives on the topic.
· Based on the evidence determine and then specify your ethical stance.
· Present your work in a formal academic essay using APA referencing that
includes an introduction, discussion, and conclusion
Structure
Introduction: Provides an introduction and
ief background to the topic and ethical discussion, identifies the ethical stance to be argued.
Body: Provides the content of the ethical arguments incorporating diverse perspectives on the bioethical principles, ethical theories, other ethical concepts. Conclusion: identifies the key ethical points argued and re-iterates the ethical stance taken. Does not introduce new ideas.
Reference List: Includes all the sources identified within the essay. Use APA 7th edition.
Minimum References
There is no set number of references that must be used as a minimum for this task, but as a rough guide only, if you have utilized less than 10-12 unique quality peer-reviewed sources then you have not read widely enough.
All arguments must be supported using a variety of high-quality primary evidence. Avoid using any one source repetitively.
Most references for this task should be published within the last 5 years, however the appropriate use of older evidence sources (e.g., seminal theoretical ethical work) is acceptable.

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