reply to each peer in 2 paragraphs
Peer 1 :
To vaccinate or to not vaccinate your child has been a more prevalent struggle in recent years, with more people questioning the safety of vaccines. Although vaccine programs are recognized as “the top public health achievement of the twentieth century,” saving millions of lives and prolonging life expectancy, the increasing number of vaccine-hesitant parents has threatened the immunity levels of masses and resulted in outbreaks of previously controlled diseases (Rus & Groselj, 2021).
There are many different reasons why parents are against vaccination, some of which include state involvement with requirements to enter public schools or safety concerns and would like the option of delaying vaccination (Rus & Groselj, 2021). As an elementary school nurse, I have seen many incidences of parents refusing to vaccinate their children resulting in parents pulling their children out of school to homeschool or going to great lengths to obtain a medical or religious exemption. Elementary-age children in South Carolina public schools must have six vaccines, including Hepatitis B, Polio, DTaP, MMR, Varicella, and Hepatitis A, having 30 days to acquire vaccines upon entering school or risk suspension until they have the required vaccines.
The incidence of vaccine-hesitant people is 90% compared to vaccine-refusing people, estimated at 5%, according to the World Health Organization Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (WHO SAGE) (Rus & Groselj, 2021). However, in a large-scale study published in more prevalent in higher income countries. In the Lancet in 2020, faith in the safety, effectiveness, and importance of vaccines improved in some areas of the world and fell in others with vaccine-hesitancy people. The WHO reported that one of the world’s top ten global health threats in 2019 was a refusal to vaccinate despite the availability of vaccines.
At an individual level, ethical dilemmas arise in parents’ hesitation in vaccinating their children, including respecting their autonomy, having the child’s best interest at heart, and contributing to herd immunity. Finding an “ethical equilibrium” is suggested in the degree of respect for parents’ level of autonomy in choosing is not a constant To vaccinate or to not vaccinate your child has been a more prevalent struggle in recent years, with more people questioning the safety of vaccines. Although vaccine programs are recognized as “the top public health achievement of the twentieth century,” saving millions of lives and prolonging life expectancy, the increasing number of vaccine-hesitant parents has threatened the immunity levels of masses and resulted in outbreaks of previously controlled diseases (Rus & Groselj, 2021).
There are many different reasons why parents are against vaccination, some of which include state involvement with requirements to enter public schools or safety concerns and would like the option of delaying vaccination (Rus & Groselj, 2021). As an elementary school nurse, I have seen many incidences of parents refusing to vaccinate their children resulting in parents pulling their children out of school to homeschool or going to great lengths to obtain a medical or religious exemption. Elementary-age children in South Carolina public schools must have six vaccines, including Hepatitis B, Polio, DTaP, MMR, Varicella, and Hepatitis A, having 30 days to acquire vaccines upon entering school or risk suspension until they have the required vaccines.
The incidence of vaccine-hesitant people is 90% compared to vaccine-refusing people, estimated at 5%, according to the World Health Organization Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (WHO SAGE) (Rus & Groselj, 2021). However, in a large-scale study published in more prevalent in higher income countries. In the Lancet in 2020, faith in the safety, effectiveness, and importance of vaccines improved in some areas of the world and fell in others with vaccine-hesitancy people. The WHO reported that one of the world’s top ten global health threats in 2019 was a refusal to vaccinate despite the availability of vaccines.
At an individual level, ethical dilemmas arise in parents’ hesitation in vaccinating their children, including respecting their autonomy, having the child’s best interest at heart, and contributing to herd immunity. Finding an “ethical equilibrium” is suggested in the degree of respect for parents’ level of autonomy in choosing is not a constant but remains a variable depending on the level of herd immunity and specificity to each society (Rus & Groselj, 2021).
Although every country and state has its policies on requirements for vaccinating children, it has become an ethical dilemma for many in the healthcare field, including pediatricians in treating patients, as well as school nurses dealing with parents who question state mandates. With opinions of what is in a child’s best interest and the dilemma of exposing children to preventable diseases, this topic will remain a debate of what is right and wrong with each person having differing opinions.
peer 2 : There are no shortage of ethical dilemmas at nurses face nearly on a daily basis. These decisions often arise out of gray area, lack of proper protocol, lack of experience, the nursing shortage, and the knowledge that every patient is different. Although we have standards and procedures, there is no “one size fits all” solution for patient care. This leads to nurses have to make judgement calls in often impossible situations. In some situations, time is crucial and there isn’t time to consult anyone else.
COVID-19 debilitated our nation and our hospitals. We were working with a virus we knew very little about. Initially, there were COVID floors. Unfortunately, before the pandemic ended there were mostly COVID hospitals. As a nurse during that time on a pulmonary medical surgical unit, we were on a sinking ship it seemed. Our facility was not allowing patients to be tested on admission, only once they became symptomatic. This caused a ripple effect were staff and patients were being exposed before we could truly quarantine a patient and have the proper PPE provided for these patients.
Like most facilities, we were learning new things about the virus from day to day. It was consistently evolving as was our care for our patients. In the study provided- 10 nurses were placed in Wuhan. This was the epicenter of the origination of this horrifying virus. These nurses for ethical dilemmas in three areas: clinical, interpersonal relationships, and nurse management. Those effects were felt worldwide.
Clinically, we did not have the knowledge or equipment to adequately treat the patients. We were understaffed to start with, then had to add losing staff to quarantines. We still had an influx of patients without COVID but other diseases and diagnoses. Our interpersonal relationships suffered. We were in disaster mode. Triaging patients based on their likelihood to survive. We did not always agree with one another. Some of us had gotten attached to our patients and it was hard to label them as too far gone. Nursing management was floundering. There were conflicts with staffing, our units were at max capacity, the nurse to patient ratio was overload. Patients surgeries were cancelled.
