1. Briefly describe a situation, action or case that you think has an ethical dimension.
Susan (fictional name) is my good friend. She is a size 18 with BMI of 32. Despite her size that makes her movement slow and makes she feels annoyed when buying new clothes, she has never have self-confident issues. Eating is one of her favourite things to do especially when she is stressed. She always sets goals and has a big meal as a reward. For example, going out for dinner at a buffet restaurant after almost every tests, exams and when the results are announced. However, what I have been noticing for some time is that Susan seems to have some ongoing minor health problems such as getting tired easily, sweaty hands, difficulty sleeping and mild back and knees pain. So, I think that it would be good for her health in long-term if she can start to change her lifestyle as soon as possible. I have wanted to advise her but I did not because part of me asking myself that “is it ethical for me to tell Susan that she should change her lifestyle, and change things that she is already happy with".
2. Explain the ethical dimension: why is this ethically important/ …show more content…
Although the similar situation occurs often in medical settings where advice for the obese patients is given by a doctor, it is ethically hard for the concerning family members and friends to decide whether to tell someone that they need a lifestyle change no matter how close they are. For me, Susan is my good friend and I want to help her, though, I do not want to hurt her feelings and destroy her confidence or get involved in matter that I should not do so.
There are multiple ethical dimensions that are relevant to this scenario. Some principles of biomedical ethics according to Beauchamp and Childress (2001) should be taken into
Susan (fictional name) is my good friend. She is a size 18 with BMI of 32. Despite her size that makes her movement slow and makes she feels annoyed when buying new clothes, she has never have self-confident issues. Eating is one of her favourite things to do especially when she is stressed. She always sets goals and has a big meal as a reward. For example, going out for dinner at a buffet restaurant after almost every tests, exams and when the results are announced. However, what I have been noticing for some time is that Susan seems to have some ongoing minor health problems such as getting tired easily, sweaty hands, difficulty sleeping and mild back and knees pain. So, I think that it would be good for her health in long-term if she can start to change her lifestyle as soon as possible. I have wanted to advise her but I did not because part of me asking myself that “is it ethical for me to tell Susan that she should change her lifestyle, and change things that she is already happy with".
2. Explain the ethical dimension: why is this ethically important/ …show more content…
Although the similar situation occurs often in medical settings where advice for the obese patients is given by a doctor, it is ethically hard for the concerning family members and friends to decide whether to tell someone that they need a lifestyle change no matter how close they are. For me, Susan is my good friend and I want to help her, though, I do not want to hurt her feelings and destroy her confidence or get involved in matter that I should not do so.
There are multiple ethical dimensions that are relevant to this scenario. Some principles of biomedical ethics according to Beauchamp and Childress (2001) should be taken into