Tracey M. Bailey

Willingness of University Nursing Students to Volunteer During a Pandemic

OBJECTIVE The global threat of an influenza pandemic continues to grow and thus universities have begun emergency preparedness planning. This study examined stakeholders knowledge, risk-perception, and willingness to volunteer. DESIGN AND SAMPLE The design of this study is a cross-sectional survey. Questionnaires were sent to 1,512 nursing students and were returned by 484, yielding a response rate of 32% for this subgroup. Nursing students may be a much-needed human resource in the event of an influenza pandemic. MEASURES The measurement tool was a Web-based questionnaire regarding pandemic influenza designed by a subgroup of researchers on the Public Health Response Committee. RESULTS Most nursing students (67.9%) said they were likely to volunteer in the event of a pandemic if they were able to do so. An even higher number (77.4%) said they would volunteer if provided protective garments. Overall, 70.7% of students supported the proposition that nursing students have a professional obligation to volunteer during a pandemic. Nursing students indicated that they have had a wealth of volunteer experience in the past and they would apply this service ethic to a pandemic situation. CONCLUSIONS Emergency preparedness competencies should be integrated into existing nursing curricula and other health science programs. University administrations need to engage in planning to create protocol for recruitment, practice, and protection of volunteers.

Medical Students and Pandemic Influenza

To assess knowledge of pandemic influenza, we administered a questionnaire to all medical students at the University of Alberta; 354 (69%) of 510 students responded. Data from questionnaires such as this could help determine the role of medical students during a public health emergency.

Willingness to volunteer during an influenza pandemic: perspectives from students and staff at a large Canadian university

Background  A future influenza pandemic will require greater demand on numerous essential services and a reduced capacity to meet that demand. Recruitment of volunteers is an important issue for pre‐pandemic planning.

The Case of Samuel Golubchuk and the Right to be Spared an Excruciating Death

The right to life has been raised as the central issue in a wide variety of health care debates. However, the assertions advanced by Jotkowitz and colleagues (2010) have little to do with such a right. Instead, Jotkowitz and colleagues present several arguments about the supposed right of patients or family members to demand health care, insisting that said right be upheld regardless of the effects on the patient, or the ethical obligations of and potential burdens born by the clinicians at the center of these cases. The case of Mr. Golubchuk has as much to do with the right to be spared an excruciating death as it does with a right to life. This case also cries out for a discussion of the factors that should be taken into account when making decisions for others at the end of life. Although the altar of autonomy is put forth by the author as the holy grail for such decision making, our discussion asserts that this is but one of many essential factors to consider on the way to reaching an ethically justifiable decision, and that no appeal to a single principle can result in a reasoned and proportionate decision. We also argue that while ethical decision making must be sensitive to cultural and/or religious considerations, these factors cannot be considered a trump card to be played and regarded as the highest suit. Jotkowitz and colleagues reference the Manitoba Guidelines (2008) and the physicians involved in Mr. Golubchuk’s care, and state that they contradict the universally adopted principles of ethics in the Western world: autonomy and informed consent. It is true that the principle of autonomy has become a leading principle that has formed the basis of many ethical and legal decisions in the last few decades. It would be fair to say that this principle has dominated other ethical considerations in many areas. However, we have not gone so far as to exclude from serious ethical consideration other important and relevant principles such as beneficence and non-maleficence, or such protections as fundamental justice or fair processes subject to review. Important to consider is the context in which autonomy typically plays its strongest role: the situation when a patient must consider a treatment or modality of care offered by the health care team. The individual has a right to accept or refuse care in the role of a “privileged interpreter” of his or her own best interest. This, however, does not equate to

A Duty to Treat During a Pandemic? The Time for Talk is Now

Future pandemics, and in particular, an influenza pandemic, will create demands on our healthcare systems that will not have been faced by healthcare professionals (HCPs) in recent decades. The dem...