Essay on Ethical Principles

Running head: ESSAY ON ETHICAL PRINCIPLES
CASE STUDY ANALYSIS OF TAYLAH
Name of the student
Name of the university
Author note

1ESSAY ON ETHICAL PRINCIPLES
Introduction
Healthcare professionals are faced with ethical decisions daily in health care settings for
people with various beliefs residing in a multicultural and pluralistic community, both minor and
major (Tomkins et al., 2015). Since there are many factors in medical circumstances, these
values are regarded not only absolute but also a powerful guideline for clinical medical
intervention because of the reality that several ethical values seem to apply in many
circumstances (Blay et al., 2018). For millennia, certain rules of medical ethics have been used.
In the advancement of society from the beginning moments, aspect like a regard for individuals
and fairness were prevalent. Nevertheless, in 1979 Tom Beauchamp and James Childress
released their first version of the Principle of Biomedical Ethical, popularizing the use of the
principle in the attempts to address ethical problems in clinical practice, specifically as regards
ethical choices in medicine (Blay et al., 2018). According to the Beauchamp and Childress code
of ethics, there are four widely recognized values of biomedical ethics in the field of health care
settings which include: ‘the principle of respect for autonomy’, ‘the principle of non-
maleficence’, ‘the principle beneficence’, and ‘the principle of Justice’ (Beauchamp, 2016).
Therefore, the purpose of this essay is to relate, discuss and critically analyze the above-
mentioned biomedical ethics with respect to the case study of Taylah provided in the form of
digital vignette recording. Hence, in the below section, the case study will be analyzed in a
detailed manner to elaborate on whether the scenario presented in the case study upholds the
biomedical ethics mentioned above or not.
Body
While analyzing the case situation, the incident should be briefly discussed. Taylah (14)
comes to the Clinic of Pam, the sexual health nurse in the community regarding contraceptive.
The case study is primarily based on the adolescent girl named ‘Taylah’ who has been referred
by her school nurse to a clinic nurse about contraceptive techniques. The scenario begins with
Pam greeting Taylah and makes her comfortable in the clinical settings so that with a developed
rapport, the patient and her complications could be properly understood. However, Taylah is
concerned about her privacy and did not want her mom to know about this visit or concern, upon

2ESSAY ON ETHICAL PRINCIPLES
which Pam mentioned that the only time she would be breaking the confidentiality, is if Taylah
is in danger or creates danger for others. Pam took consent prior to asking a personal question
about her house, her mom, her diabetic condition, her education, and her sexual and addictive
habits. It was seen that Taylah is answering confidently; however, on the questions of alcohol
and smoking, as well as her sexual intercourses, Taylah becomes nervous and asked for the
reason of such questions. Further, Taylah mentioned that she is concerned about her diabetes as
it restricts her from several things and hence, she wishes to be normal like other kids.
As per the Beauchamp and Childress code of ethics, there are four biomedical ethical
aspects that should be followed by the healthcare professionals while providing care to the
patients. These ethical codes are associated with the principles of the respect for autonomy,
beneficence, non-maleficence, and justice of each of the patient seeking care or information
about health concern as per Beauchamp (2016), it is important for each nursing and healthcare
professionals to comply with the principles.
Autonomy is the ethical code that allows every individual to make his or her own
healthcare choices and hence while seeking healthcare, the person should be asked for consents,
provide complete details of the healthcare process so that the person could learn about the entire
process (Osamor & Grady, 2016). As per Çetin and Aşkun (2018), while providing care to the
patients, it is important for the nursing professionals to be considerate and respectful about the
patient’s privacy and autonomy so that patients could effectively take part in their care process
and comply with interventions. Beauchamp and Childress have also mentioned autonomy as the
ability to make decisions that are made intentionally so that patients could feel their freedom and
valued in the care process. In the case scenario of Taylah, it was seen that while communicating
to the sexual health nurse, she was provided with the right to deny answering to any of the
personal questions so that her autonomy could be maintained. Further, it was seen that Pam, the
nurse, mentioned each of the details of the interview session, her reason for asking questions
about drugs, her alcoholic behavior, her sexual life, and her personal relationships so that Taylah
could understand the purpose of the communication session. Hence, as per the Beauchamp and
Childress code of ethics, the sexual health nurse in this scenario was able to comply with the
autonomy related ethical aspects (Castro et al., 2016).