Category: Medicine and Health

For this assignment, at the practical level, we will be demonstrating our skills in heuristic analysis, evaluating and organizing source material, crafting a focused, cogent argument, and building an effective intertextual essay. 
We have explored prominent personal and social issues related to health and well-being from a variety of critical perspectives. For this written assignment, we will be applying our analytical abilities to a work of fiction: Todd Haynes’ 1995, Safe, starring Julianne Moore as Carol White. 
As the film presents them, Carol’s health troubles are the product of no single influence but rather the accumulation of long-term exposure to multiple toxic byproducts of modern life. Or are they? What are some of the influences we are led to understand have so negatively influenced Carol’s well-being? Does the story suggest her ailment is in her mind or her body? Maybe somewhere else entirely? We might even connect Carol’s distress to the race issues we have explored via Barr and Bowen Matthew. (After all, her name is Carol White.)
As far as supportive material, it’s up to you to decide which ideas best fit your understanding of the film. You can talk definitions of health and healing, social hierarchies or racial influences on who gets what kind of care in this country. There is even room to discuss alternative medicine and the models of health beyond science. So as you watch, be thinking how you would account for the health-related messages in the film. 
Prompt: Once you have chosen the conceptual focus of your analysis, respond to the following prompt in a 3-4 page, thesis-driven essay: What’s ailing Carol?   
When talk about the film, quote specifc scenes. 

Fully explain the arguments offered by the Supreme Court in Washington v. Glucksberg and Vacco v. Quill. How are these two cases different? Do you find the court’s reasoning to be equally convincing in both cases? Why or why not? Pay special attention to Sandra Day O’Connor’s concurring opinion in Vacco v. Quill. If terminal sedation a form of euthanasia and, if so, does this undermine the court’s conclusions?

chose a topic triggered for you, as a result of talking to your patient.
The essay you decide to write should relate to either a psychological issue around illness and
health behaviour, or social factors affecting the patient’s development and experience of
illness. Alternatively, it could be a particular ethical issue of interest to you that is relevant to
the patient in question or could be significant in their future care.
Think about the patient’s health overall – not just the presenting condition. Patients may have
co-morbidities and the recent episode may be just one incident in a long-term condition.
If you decide to write an essay on ethics, consider what the legal as well as moral arguments
are and how they relate to the care and decisions around management in your patient’s case.
Apply these principles to the investigations, treatment and management that might be
appropriate for the patient’s health problems. Discuss ethical issues which you believe are (or
will be) raised in the treatment and care of your patient.
Topic already provided as title 
Subheadings:
1. Introduction 
2. The Impact of Sickle Cell Disease on Artistic Pursuits: Challenges and Limitations
3. Ethical Considerations in Pain Management for Artists with Sickle Cell Disease
4. Access to Support Systems and Resources: Addressing Disparities in Care
5. Case Studies: Ethical Dilemmas Faced by Artists with Sickle Cell Disease
6. Conclusion