2 Discussions and Paper

Discussion 1

· Minimum of 1 scholarly source 

Introduction Ayn Rand’s Objectivist philosophy has been touted by her detractors as the philosophy of self-interested selfishness. Her four epistemological principles include the following:

· Metaphysics: Objective reality of the world and the objects in it.

· Epistemology: Reason as the one and only key to understanding.

· Ethics: Self-interest not only in what behavior is but also what it should be.

· Politics: Capitalism through the performance of deeds by individuals who are self-interested. 

In the early 1960s, a student asked a spokesman for Objectivism what would happen to the poor in an Objectivist's free society. The spokesman answered, "If you want to help them, you will not be stopped." Based on Rand's works, Atlas Shrugged or The Fountainhead, one will conclude that this would be the answer Ayn would have given to that student as well. 

Initial Post Instructions For the initial post, address all of the following:

· What do you conclude from the answer given by the Objectivist spokesperson?

· Examine the notion that Objectivism, like moral relativism, is the opposite of ethics. Provide support for your position.

· What clue in what she taught leads to your conclusion?

Writing Requirements

· APA format for in-text citations and list of references

Grading This activity will be graded using the Discussion Grading Rubric. Please review the following link:

Discussion 2

· Minimum of 1 professional ethics code

Introduction Different ways to analyze ethical behaviors and dilemmas exist, and many of them will help direct you to the correct or "best" solution to a problem. As we discussed in Week 1, sometimes right vs. right or wrong vs. wrong decisions have to be made.

In the lesson this week, you are given three ethical dilemma resolution models to try out on a dilemma provided there. Please review that interactive before working on this assignment

Initial Post Instructions For this discussion, address one of the following questions:

1. Review the sample solution to the Laura Nash method. Do you agree with that analysis? If so, what parts do you think really helped you work through the dilemma? If not, which parts do you not agree with?

2. Review the sample solution to the Front Page of the Newspaper method. Do you think this is one of those types of dilemmas for which this model works? If not, why not? If so, why? How did using this method help you work through the dilemma?

3. Review the sample solution to the Blanchard and Peale method. Do you agree with the analysis? If not, why not? If so, in what way did this help you analyze this dilemma?

Be sure to show that you have viewed the lecture and interactive and that you attempted an analysis for "high quality" posts this week.

Writing Requirements

· Minimum of 2 sources cited (assigned readings/online lessons and an outside source)

· APA format for in-text citations and list of references

2-3 Page Paper

· Link (file):  Memo Template

· Minimum of 2 scholarly sources 

Instructions This assignment presents a difficult and painful medical dilemma, with you in an imagined professional role. Go through the You Decide scenario and make the decision it calls for. Then, compose an official memorandum that will be kept for the record and could potentially be read not only by your Peer Review Committee but also by those involved in charitable fundraising, which supports hospital development, as well as by others with financial interests in the decision.

In the memo (use the Memo Template), explain your decision and your reasoning for it. Include the following:

· Who benefits from what you decided? Explain why.

· Who gets denied a needed benefit? Explain why.

You will see notice that there is time pressure in the simulated situation, so remember that you would not have the luxury to dawdle in the decision-making process, and as the decision maker, you would not have the luxury of consulting a broad spectrum of advisors. It falls on you to decide!

Include in the memo the utilitarian ethical philosophy of John Stuart Mill (from the lesson last week) and one other ethical philosopher of your choosing that we have studied to date. Use both of those philosophies to bolster your decision.

Writing Requirements (APA format)

· Length: 2-3 pages (not including title page or references page)

· 1-inch margins

· Double spaced

· 12-point Times New Roman font

· Title page

· References page (minimum of 2 scholarly sources)

You Decide Scenario:

One of the great ongoing situations that calls for ethical decision making is the reality that there is almost always a greater need for something than there is a supply to meet the need.

For our assignment and scenario, the demand is the life-and-death situation of the need for transplantable organs and the rather small and transitory supply. Hard decisions need to be made, and there is little time to think things through. These are emergency situations.

Transplantable organs become available on short notice--usually because a donor has died for reasons unrelated to the organ. They need to be removed and transplanted very quickly because they only remain fresh for a limited period. Then there is the whole complicated issue of tissue type matching. There is also an ongoing concern about how long recipients can wait.

Scenario:

Ok, Lead Surgeon, it is time to do what you do best! There is a lot at stake. The decision must be made almost immediately. Like all actions, you will need to write your decision into medical documentation before you begin. Yes, that means YOU! In the limited time before you would begin surgery, you need to consider the cases; the technical issues involved also, and write a Memorandum for the Record to document what decision you made and what considerations you included in your process. This will be on the record, so it needs to be thorough in case it needs to justify your actions at a later date.

Role:

You are the Lead Surgeon in a major hospital, and by virtue of your seniority you are also the key decision maker for transplant cases. Right now you have three people who are waiting and hoping for a suitable heart to become available. Your cell phone rings suddenly, and you are notified that a heart has become available-meaning that you need to make a quick yet sound decision about which patient will receive the heart and then schedule surgery for today.

Players:

Jerry: Male, 55 year old family man, mid-level manage

Jerry, a father of 3 children and at the age of 55, is in the Ward awaiting a suitable heart for transplanting. His wife Joanie is a stay at home mother with no education beyond high school and no career. Jerry is the middle level manager at a carpet distributing business and 5 year short of his retirement eligibility. Jerry and Joanie have three teenage children aged 14, 16, and 19. The 19 year old is a sophomore at college; the 14 year old is mildly autistic, and the 16 year old is an astronaut wannabe. If Jerry gets the heart, his chances of living another 10-15 years are very high. His heart is damaged due to the use of steroids in his early 20s when he was involved with bodybuilding before the dangers of steroid use were fully known

Lisa :Female, 12 year old lifelong health issues

Lisa is one of those precocious girls - a doll-like girl at the edge of becoming a teenager. She reads voraciously and yet likes the activities of a younger girl playing with her Barbie Doll. She has suffered health issues all her life due to various viral infections and a lupus-like immune deficiency. Her heart was damaged during a nasty bout with pneumonia last year and actually stopped for a brief period. Her mother knew to begin CPR on her or she would have died there. Even with a transplant, her chances of surviving into her 20s are not good. She is the only child in the family, and they cannot bear more children. Her parents will do anything for her, and they have offered to donate $2 million to the hospital's construction of specialized facilities if she can get a heart soon enough. Her father is also a noted oncologist working in the same hospital but in a different department

Ozzy: Male, 38 year old homeless drug abuser

Ozzy is a single 38 year old man with no family. He has lived homeless and in shelters for at least a decade. He was brought to the Hospital through the work of a local charity that assists such men with no assets or insurance. His heart condition is due to continued abuse and overdosing of crack cocaine, and without a transplant he will not live out the month. In recent months, has become involved with troubled teens at a local homework and tutoring hangout, and he has provided the wisdom and insight that only an abuser can know about where life can go. He has signed a contract with the same charity that, if he gets the transplant, he will continue working at the after-school homework hangout as a counselor-mentor for at least one year after the transplant. With the transplant and successful staying off the drugs, he could live another 10 years - maybe more. Recidivism is a severe risk with his history of abuse, and if he returns to using crack he would quickly damage the new heart and die within months.

Dr. Doe: Male, 35 year old Lisa's Dad, the oncologist

Dr. Jonathan Doe is Lisa's father. He has offered the hospital $2 Million Dollars in exchange that his daughter gets the heart transplant. He is an up-and-coming oncologist in the same hospital. He is loyal and totally committed to Lisa; while not obnoxious and pushy, his presence is keenly felt around the professional community in the Hospital and there is a need for his $2 Million

Deliverable:

Your assignment is to make the decision using utilitarian ethics--as this week's classwork and discussions have brought you that skill--and then to write it up in the form of a Memorandum for the hospital records. Remember that this record could be reviewed by the Peer Review Committee or the Hospital Trustees at a later date. This is Utilitarian Week in our course. Employ what you have learned from J. S. Mill and Utilitarianism this week AND one other of our course's ethicists (of your choice) from earlier weeks. The Memorandum should be at least two double-spaced pages with a maximum of three pages, in memorandum form, ready to become an official item of record.