| Course | HCM-3080 Healthcare Legal and Ethical Considerations |
|---|---|
| Module | Module 7 |
| Paper type | Discussion forum: initial post and two replies |
| Length | About 494 words |
| Format | Discussion post with APA 7 citations |
| School | Thomas Edison State University |
| Program | B.S. in Healthcare Management |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for HCM 3080 Module 7
Module 7 Discussion: Initial Post and Replies
No Directive, Three Children, One Ventilator: Who Decides, and What the Hospital Owes the Family
Imagine a 79-year-old widower at Riverbend Community Hospital who has a massive stroke and is placed on a ventilator. His neurologist expects that he will not regain the ability to communicate. He never completed an advance directive. One daughter says he would never want to live this way; his son insists that everything be done; a second daughter is undecided. The care team turns to administration for guidance.
New Jersey has a special place in this history. In In re Quinlan (1976), the New Jersey Supreme Court allowed the father of Karen Ann Quinlan, a young woman in a persistent vegetative state, to act as her guardian and authorize removal of her ventilator, reasoning that her right of privacy could be exercised on her behalf and that a hospital ethics committee should confirm the prognosis. Fourteen years later, in Cruzan v. Director (1990), the U.S. Supreme Court took as given that a competent adult's liberty includes turning down unwanted treatment, tube feeding among it, yet let Missouri insist on clear and convincing proof of what an incapacitated patient would have chosen before treatment could be stopped.
Together, the cases suggest the path the hospital should take. The goal is to determine what this patient would have wanted, not what each child prefers. New Jersey law permits family members to act as surrogates when no health care representative was named, and the hospital's ethics committee can facilitate a meeting where the team explains the prognosis and asks each child what their father said or valued. If the family remains divided, the hospital should not choose a side; it may need to seek guardianship or court guidance. The administrator's job is to make sure the process is fair, documented and timely.
Reply to Monique
Monique, you suggested that the ethics committee should make the decision when families disagree. I see why, but I think that gives the committee a role the cases did not. In Quinlan, the court used an ethics committee to confirm the medical prognosis, not to replace the family's judgment about what Karen would have wanted. Committees are most useful as mediators that clarify facts and values. If the committee decided for the family, would the hospital be on stronger or weaker legal ground if a sibling challenged the decision?
Reply to Derek
Derek, your point that advance directives would prevent most of these conflicts is right in principle, but the numbers show how far we are from that. Yadav et al. (2017) pooled studies published between 2011 and 2016 and found that only about one in three U.S. adults had completed any type of advance directive, with rates only somewhat higher among people with chronic illness. Hospitals can help by asking about directives at every admission and offering help completing one, but administrators also need a fair process for the majority of patients who arrive without one.
References
Cruzan v. Director, Missouri Department of Health, 497 U.S. 261 (1990).
In re Quinlan, 70 N.J. 10, 355 A.2d 647 (1976).
Yadav, K. N., Gabler, N. B., Cooney, E., Kent, S., Kim, J., Herbst, N., Mante, A., Halpern, S. D., & Courtright, K. R. (2017). Approximately one in three US adults completes any type of advance directive for end-of-life care. Health Affairs, 36(7), 1244-1251. https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2017.0175
HCM 3080 Module 7 instructions, in plain terms
Life and Death Issues is the seventh module. With seventeen forums spread through the term, discussion makes up a large part of the course, and the syllabus wants threads that feel like a live class, where each comment advances the topic with a question, an answer, more information or an example. Find the current prompt in the classroom. End-of-life forums often raise advance directives, surrogates, withdrawal of treatment, brain death or medical aid in dying, and they call for care in tone. Identify which state's law governs, state any landmark case accurately, and post early enough that others can reply before the thread closes.
How this HCM 3080 Module 7 example is built
The initial post sets a hard family scene, a stroke patient on a ventilator with no directive and three children who disagree, and asks what administration owes them. It recounts Quinlan, a New Jersey decision, and Cruzan, a U.S. Supreme Court decision, each by its facts and holding, and draws from them the principle that the patient's own wishes guide the choice. It then sketches a process using surrogates, the ethics committee and, if needed, a court. The first reply questions a classmate's idea of letting the committee decide and ends with a legal question. The second reply supports a classmate with data on how few adults have directives and adds an admission practice.
Reading the HCM 3080 Module 7 grading rubric
On end-of-life topics, mentors look for landmark cases stated accurately, a clear sense of the difference between deciding as the patient would have and deciding in the patient's best interest, and respect for families and staff. A good forum entry translates the law into a fair process. Replies that question or extend a classmate's view with reasons or evidence earn more than agreement. Because the forums together make up about a third of the grade, steady quality from week to week matters. Proper citation, careful tone and timely posting are all part of how these discussions are evaluated. Mentors respond well to posts that turn a court's reasoning into steps a hospital can actually follow when families disagree.
HCM 3080 Module 7 help: mistakes that cost marks
End-of-life forums can slide into personal preference about what the student would want. Keep the post centered on the patient's wishes, the law and the ethics. Check each landmark case before citing it, since Quinlan and Cruzan are often misstated. State law on surrogates and directives varies, so name the state that governs your prompt. Use careful, respectful language about patients and families. In replies, respond to the argument your classmate made rather than restating your own post. If you draw on personal experience, remove identifying details. For an end-of-life prompt in HCM-3080, the desk can write the opening post and both replies. Reread the prompt before posting to make sure every part of the question is answered.
Write yours, or have the desk draft it
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HCM 3080 Module 7 questions, answered
Where can I find a free HCM 3080 Module 7 sample paper?
The complete Module 7 discussion entry is above, with an initial post and two replies on surrogate decisions without an advance directive, annotated on the sheets.
What did In re Quinlan decide?
In 1976 the New Jersey Supreme Court allowed a father, as guardian, to authorize removing his daughter's ventilator, holding that her right of privacy could be exercised on her behalf, with an ethics committee confirming the prognosis.
What did Cruzan v. Director decide?
The U.S. Supreme Court accepted that competent adults may decline treatment, including tube feeding, but upheld a state's demand for clear and convincing proof of an incapacitated patient's wishes.
Who decides when there is no advance directive?
State law usually designates family members as surrogates, who should decide based on what the patient would have wanted. Ethics committees can mediate, and courts may be needed if disagreement continues.
How many adults have an advance directive?
A review of studies from 2011 to 2016 found that only about one in three U.S. adults had completed any type of advance directive.