Ethics refers to what is morally right or wrong; a standard of how one should behave.  Morals are beliefs of what is correct and not correct based on our family, religion, and society influences.  Although ethics are personal, they are also decided upon by professional or governmental organizations.  Ethics can also be called “Shades of Gray” because there are oft times when there is no clear right or wrong choice. 

For your project, you need to pick a healthcare related ethical issue that interests you; research both sides of the issue, form your own opinion about the issue, and present it in a well thought out response.   

Select a topic. Examples are genetic screening, body modification, organ transplantation, life support, genetic engineering, blood transfusions, confidentiality, euthanasia, prescription drugs, recreational drug use, stem cell research, government health regulations (for examples: school lunches or fast food nutrition), etc. Excluded from your options are ethical issues that deal with abortion and/or contraceptives. These topics are not discussed in BSC 250. If a student selects either, their paper will not be graded and a zero will be awarded to the student.

For example:

·         Do we have a responsibility to provide healthcare to less fortunate people (government health regulations)?

·         Is it wrong to divulge a patient records (confidentiality)?

·         Should we try to keep people alive at all costs, no matter what their physical or mental condition (life support vs. euthanasia)?

·         Should we experiment with animals to improve the quality of our lives (relate to cosmetics)?

·         Do recreational drugs pose a threat to young individuals in the United States (overdose to crimes associated with drugs)?

·         Should individuals with a known genetic disorder or trait have children?

·         Pros and Cons of Genetic Engineering Stem cell research.

Introduction:  Briefly introduce and outline your ethical issue. Why is it an ethical issue?

 Explain WHY the topic is important or interesting to YOU?  WHY should it be of interest or importance to the reader?

Body of Paper:  The body of your paper should include discussion of the following:

Give background information, and then discuss the pros, cons, and your opinion on your topic (describe the decision that you would make in this situation and explain why).

Text must include the following:

• One side of the issue
• The other side of the issue

The body of the paper should reflect a clear understanding of these subjects written in your own words.  No headings or subheadings are allowed within the body of the paper.

Conclusion:  In your own words, explain your reaction to the information you learned from your research.  Do NOT just restate your discussion or facts from the paper.  Your conclusion should be personal, based on what your learned while researching this paper. 500 word minimum

RUBRIC is below:

Synopsis; the summary is composed of original thoughts; the summary includes an introduction, a body, and a conclusion; within the body, the main points are included, details that support the main ideas; includes a word count for each summary (min. 500 words).       

Introduction

________ (10 pts Briefly introduce and outline your ethical issue. Explain WHY the topic is important or interesting to YOU?  WHY should it be of interest or importance to the reader?)

Body

_______ (20 pts Discussed one side of the topic and is adequately backed by research)

_______ (20 pts Discussed the other side of the topic and is adequately backed by research)

Conclusion

_______ (20 pts. Explained their reaction to the information learned from their research; Described the decision that he/she would make in this situation and explained why)

Other

_______ (10pts. Paper is well organized and contains an introduction, body, and summarizing paragraph (conclusion))

_______ (10 pts. Document is free of spelling and grammatical errors; well-developed sentences/paragraphs (no run-ons))

_______ (10 pts. A minimum of 1 scholarly/peer-review journal (primary literature) is included; formatted in APA (both in-text and on work cited page))

_______ (-10 pts. Failure to include APA format for in-text citation)

_______ (-10 pts. Failure to include APA format for work-cited page)

_______ (-10 pts for the use of each quotation)

_______ (- 10 pts for not meeting the length (word count) requirement)

_______ (-100 pts for selecting a topic not related in to A&P I)