Discussion thre - Assignment Example

Ethics and Consent Ethics and Consent: Who should receive the experimental drug for Ebola? The BBC News, on August 12, reported intentions of testing Ebola experimental drugs on humans after having tried them on monkeys (BBC News, 2014). The dilemma in the case of who should receive the experimental drug for Ebola is that on one hand, there is a potential risk that the drug might have adverse effects on those to whom it is administered. On the other hand, the drug might work and not administering it will allow continued deaths from Ebola.

This is an ethical dilemma because the person, who has the experimental drug, and all other people, has a moral duty to care for those suffering from Ebola and the decision about whether or not to administer the drug touches on this duty (Jackson, 2006). The ethical principles that are relevant to this event are respect for autonomy, beneficence, non-malfeasance, and justice. Respect for autonomy requires that healthcare providers regard patients’ right to decide what happens to their bodies.

Beneficence focuses on doing the best thing to a patient in all situations, while under non-malfeasance, healthcare providers endeavor not to do any harm to patients. Upholding justice makes healthcare providers to deal fairly with all patients in giving treatment or distributing scarce resources. Respect for autonomy, beneficence, and non-malfeasance are in conflict in this case. Respect for autonomy is more compelling in this case because it will allow the testing of the experimental drug with a patient’s consent.

This principle would suggest and offer support for a resolution by allowing the experimenter to test the drug without breaking the law and the patient might benefit if the drug works (Sugarman & Sulmasy, 2010). Consent and informed consent The distinction between consent and informed consent has implications for professional healthcare providers. Informed consent protects professional healthcare providers from legal action and consent does not. Finally, in education related to informed consent, APRN should emphasize the need for healthcare providers to provide patients with sufficient information regarding any procedure for which they might intend to carry out on patients (Maclean, 2009).

ReferencesBBC News. Ebola: Experimental drugs and vaccines. BBC New, August 12, 2014. Retrieved September 5, 2014 from http://www.bbc.com/news/health-28663217Jackson, J. C. (2006). Ethics in medicine. Cambridge: Polity.Maclean, A. (2009). Autonomy, informed consent and medical law: A relational challenge. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.Sugarman, J., & Sulmasy, D. P. (2010). Methods in Medical Ethics. Washington: Georgetown University Press.