Assignment task: Ethical and Spiritual Decision Making In Health Care
Q1. 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?
Q2. 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.
Q3. What is the Christian concept of the imago Dei? How important might it be to health care, and why is it relevant?
Q4. 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?
Q5. The four principles, 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 Resources in your response.
Q6. 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.
Q7. 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.
Q8. 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.
Q9. What is your definition of spiritual care? How does it differ or accord with the description given in the topic readings? Explain.
Q10. 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?