Assignment task: Ethical Issues
Goal:
The purposes of discussion topics are to build our own logical thoughts and establish our personal ethics through conversation, much like we would at the end of a class day or at an EMS station. These discussions are designed to be peripherally related to one or more of the topics covered in the module, and help to provide a higher-level ("ten-thousand foot") perspective on EMS as a career and profession. Discussions are designed so that your initial post must be completed prior to any material opening. Keep in mind that replies are open and encouraged! If your instructor responds to your post and asks a furthering question, you must respond!
This module will explore ethical issues you will likely encounter. Discussion posts and replies will be considered as part of both your cognitive and affective grades.
Please answer each of the following prompts with a few sentences each.
1. You are on scene with a 50 year old patient who just died of breast cancer. It was expected and she had a DNR, however the 25 year old daughter is visibly upset. She mentions that every female in her family has died of the disease around the same age, and she is afraid that she, and more importantly her young daughter, might suffer the same fate.
For this prompt, answer the following questions:
- How would approach consoling the daughter on the loss?
- How would you direct her to mental health assistance should she want/need it?
- What Mental Health Resources do you have in your area?
2. You are transporting an 85 year old male to a rehab center after he fell. During the transport, he mentions that his age is catching up with him and he is considering getting a living will and DNR order while his mind still works. He asks for your advice "off the record" on DNR orders. He mentions that his wife suffered from a very difficult resuscitation with almost an hour of CPR and then spent months on life support before dying.
For this prompt, answer the following questions:
- How would approach your partner this discussion, "off the record"?
- How would you describe the necessary components of a DNR in your area?
- What Mental Health Resources could you direct him toward for dealing with the loss of his spouse?
3. You are called to an office building with an out of service elevator. Your patient is a 35 year old very obese man, who had to walk up 6 flights of stairs and had an episode of chest pain and shortness of breath. After carrying him down the stairs and initiating transport, the patient remarks that his parents fed him fast food almost every day, and he associates fast food and sweets with comfort. He also mentions that he works all day on his computer and gets very little activity due to a long drive to and from work. He is visibly upset and looking to you for some sort of comfort
For this prompt, answer the following questions:
- How would approach his food abuse behavior and poor eating habits?
- Does it fall within your scope to talk about exercise and better health habits to this patient (remember, you just carried him down six flights of stairs)?
4. Your partner normally arrives early for shift, provides excellent patient care, and presents themselves professionally. Over the last month you have noticed they are showing up late, their appearance is disheveled, they are quick to anger and are making mistakes in patient care.
For this prompt, answer the following questions:
- How would approach your partner about the changes in behavior?
- If they confide in you about engaging in reckless/risky behavior or substance abuse would you report it?
- What if the mistakes in patient care were not serious, would that change your approach?
- What Mental Health Resources do you have in your area?