1 ASHLAND UNIVERSITY DWIGHT SCHAR COLLEGE OF NURSING AND HEALTH SCIENCES Reflection: Case Study and Ethical Decision Making Model NUHS 510 Purpose of this assignment:  Search for and apply an appropriate decision making model to an ethical dilemma case study. Content/Grading: This assignment is worth a possible 25 points, per the following grading rubric. Criteria 4 points 2 Points 1 Point Timeliness Submitted on due date Submitted 1-3 days past due date. Submitted 4 or more days past due date but before semester end. Criteria 19-21 points 16-18 Points 14-15 Points 12-13 Points Analysis and Format You have thoroughly addressed all required elements in the assignment You have selected an appropriate ethical decision making model and demonstrate excellent application of the model to the provided case study. You provide appropriate discussion of 1 or more potential solutions to the dilemma. APA citation is in correct format. Your response is free, or nearly free of errors in grammar and/or sentence structure. You meet, but do not exceed, the page limit You have thoroughly addressed all required elements in the assignment. You have selected an appropriate ethical decision making model and demonstrate good application of the model to the provided case study. You provide appropriate discussion of 1 or more potential solutions to the dilemma. APA citation is correct or near correct format (1 error). Your response is free, or nearly free of errors in grammar and/or sentence structure. You may not meet, or you may exceed, the page limit. You have addressed some, but not all, required elements in the assignment. You have selected an appropriate ethical decision making model and demonstrate beginning level application of the model to the provided case study. You provide some discussion of 1 or more potential solutions to the dilemma. APA citation has some errors. Your response may include several errors in grammar and/or sentence structure. You may not meet, or you may exceed, the page limit. You have minimally addressed some, but not all, required elements in the assignment. You have selected an appropriate ethical decision making model but demonstrate limited application of the model to the provided case study. You provide no discussion of any potential solution(s) to the dilemma. You provide no citation for your model. Your response contains significant errors in grammar and/or sentence structure. You may not meet, or you may exceed, the page limit. Total Points 25 Process: 1. Read the case study provided at the end of this document. This case study is appropriate for consideration by students from all disciplines enrolled in this course, as it looks at health related claims in the context of exercise. It also builds on content we consider in this module related to the impact of m ...

1. 1
ASHLAND UNIVERSITY
DWIGHT SCHAR COLLEGE OF NURSING AND HEALTH
SCIENCES
Reflection: Case Study and Ethical Decision Making Model
NUHS 510
Purpose of this assignment:
an ethical dilemma case
study.
Content/Grading: This assignment is worth a possible 25 points,
per the following grading
rubric.
Criteria 4 points 2 Points 1 Point
Timeliness Submitted on due
date
Submitted 1-3 days
past due date.
Submitted 4 or more days past due date but

2. before semester end.
Criteria 19-21 points 16-18 Points 14-15 Points 12-13 Points
Analysis and
Format
You have thoroughly
addressed all
required elements in
the assignment You
have selected an
appropriate ethical
decision making
model and
demonstrate
excellent application
of the model to the
provided case study.
You provide
appropriate
discussion of 1 or
more potential
solutions to the
dilemma. APA
citation is in correct
format. Your
response is free, or
nearly free of errors
in grammar and/or
sentence structure.
You meet, but do not
exceed, the page
limit
You have thoroughly

3. addressed all
required elements in
the assignment. You
have selected an
appropriate ethical
decision making
model and
demonstrate good
application of the
model to the
provided case study.
You provide
appropriate
discussion of 1 or
more potential
solutions to the
dilemma. APA
citation is correct or
near correct format
(1 error). Your
response is free, or
nearly free of errors
in grammar and/or
sentence structure.
You may not meet,
or you may exceed,
the page limit.
You have addressed
some, but not all,
required elements in
the assignment. You
have selected an
appropriate ethical
decision making
model and

4. demonstrate
beginning level
application of the
model to the
provided case study.
You provide some
discussion of 1 or
more potential
solutions to the
dilemma. APA
citation has some
errors. Your
response may
include several
errors in grammar
and/or sentence
structure. You may
not meet, or you may
exceed, the page
limit.
You have minimally
addressed some, but
not all, required
elements in the
assignment. You
have selected an
appropriate ethical
decision making
model but
demonstrate limited
application of the
model to the
provided case study.
You provide no
discussion of any

5. potential solution(s)
to the dilemma. You
provide no citation
for your model. Your
response contains
significant errors in
grammar and/or
sentence structure.
You may not meet,
or you may exceed,
the page limit.
Total Points 25
Process:
1. Read the case study provided at the end of this document.
This case study is appropriate for
consideration by students from all disciplines enrolled in this
course, as it looks at health
related claims in the context of exercise. It also builds on
content we consider in this module
related to the impact of media.
2
2. Search the literature for at ethical decision making model, or
a model that provides steps to

6. consider an ethical dilemma and come to one or more potential
solutions. These types of
models are often used by ethics committees to consider
dilemmas. Your selected model
may be found in a peer-reviewed journal article (primary
source) or a textbook (secondary
source). Ethical decision-making models are available in sport
literature, but you are not
limited to that as an option. You may use any ethical decision-
making model that can be
applied to the case study.
3. In a word-processed document, create a 2 page, double-
spaced reflection paper. In this
paper, you will apply the model to the case study that I have
provided and flesh out each
step. You will need to create a title page and a reference page,
so you will have a total of 4
pages, with one APA reference (the reference for your model).
Although I would like APA
format for the reference, this is not a formal scholarly paper; it
is acceptable to list each step
of the model numerically and then provide your response to that
step. You may also include
bulleted lists as you consider the various steps of the model.

7. 4. Submit completed reflection paper to the course drop box.
Due date is noted on syllabus
calendar.
Case Study: Health Risk and Sport Participation
Adapted from: Malloy, D.C., Ross, S., & Zakus, D.H. (2003).
Sport ethics: Concepts and cases
in sport and recreation. Canada: Thompson Educational
Publishing, Inc.
Brian is a star linebacker in a Division II football program. He
has established records for the
most single-season and career tackles for linebackers. He is
about to enter his senior year.
There are questions about his health status. Serious concerns
have been raised about his
continued participation in football due to the potential health
risk involved. Brian is distraught by
recent events that have contributed to potential health risks for
him. He has been playing
football in an organized league for more than half of his life.
All of his close friends are football
players. In his own words, he “lives and breathes to play
football.”
During spring training following his junior year he lay

8. paralyzed on the turf after a tackle, but
recovered shortly afterward. On many prior occasions following
tackles he has felt numbness in
both arms and hands. That feeling was much different from a
stinger, or burner, which creates a
tingling sensation in one arm for the other, due to extreme
pressure on a nerve. On the most
serious occasion, Brian made a tackle, fell to the turf, and lay
still, paralyzed. He was
transported from the field and admitted to the hospital, where he
spent three days. During this
time, both sensation and movement returned. To determine the
cause of the numbness, Brian
was referred to a neurosurgeon.
Following a thorough examination involving x-ray and magnetic
resonance imaging (MRI), which
produces an image of bone and soft tissue such as muscles and
nerves, the diagnosis was
spinal stenosis, a narrower than normal spinal canal. Based on
that information, the
neurosurgeon recommended that Brian not play football at all
due to the increased risk involved,
potentially permanent paralysis. Aware of the crushing
disappointment his recommendation

9. caused, the neurosurgeon suggested that Brian obtain a second
opinion. Another neurosurgeon
in a city some distance away was consulted. This physician
confirmed the assessment and
concurred with the recommendation to stop playing football. At
that point, it appeared that
Brian’s football career was finished and he was devastated.
3
Shortly after that, the head football trainer attended a meeting
of the National Athletic Trainers
Association. There he heard a presentation by an orthopedic
surgeon, an expert on cervical
spinal stenosis, who claimed that men with the condition were
not necessarily in any more
danger of paralysis than those with normal spinal columns.
Some medical research was cited to
support his position along with the explanation that paralysis
due to football injury was caused
by improper tackling technique (headfirst) and when that
happened, the diameter of the spinal
column was irrelevant. This information was conveyed to Brian,

10. who now had some basis for a
possible return to the football team for his senior year. This is
provided him a ray of hope. He
eagerly shared it with his friends on the team.
The earlier recommendations of neurosurgeons did not totally
forbid him from play, but left the
final decision in his hands. As the season approach, Brian
started leaning more toward playing.
He had maintained game level fitness by training in the gym
with his teammates. Brian, a young
man of 23, discussed the matter with his parents, who
reluctantly agreed with his decision to
play in his senior year, frightened of the risk but knowing that
Brian’s life revolved around
playing football and that medical opinions were mixed. His love
of the game the deciding factor.
He approached the head coach and indicated his desire to play.
His friends on the team were
ecstatic at his decision to return; many of them were seniors and
this would likely be their last
opportunity to proceed in playoffs to a championship. Given
Brian’s history with the team, his
contribution would likely be a critical part of their success this
season.

11. The head coach, who obviously would welcome him back, was
careful to exert no pressure on
Brian to either return or not return. Privately concerned about
possible health ramifications for
Brian and legal risk for the university athletic program, he
replied that he would discuss the
matter with other university administrators and would contact
Brian as soon as possible. The
director of athletics then became involved because the school
had certain responsibilities in
such cases and the legal liability aspect merited consideration.
Another doctor, one of the
university’s team physicians, considered forbidding Brian to
play. A committee meeting was held
to discuss all of the aspects related to this complex decision.
At this point, your task is to consider this ethical dilemma as if
you were a member of the
decision-making team. As per the directions above, locate and
select an appropriate decision-
making model to guide the committee decision in your
reflection. As you work your way through
the steps of the model, here are some examples of questions that
you might consider:

12. Who is the appropriate person to make such a decision?
What rights does a student athlete have?
Who would be authorized to forbid the student to play because
of health risks (likely a
physician) and what should happen if there is dissenting
opinions?
Of the stakeholders, can anyone make an unbiased decision?
Remember, there is no inherent right or wrong answer to an
ethical dilemma. I will be looking for
a thorough application of a formal model of your choice that
demonstrates to me that you can
consider the various steps of the model as they relate to this
case study.