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Munchhausen 's Syndrome By Proxy

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Munchhausen’s Syndrome by Proxy
Six year old Eric is continuously brought to a local clinic by his mother Monica for treatment of abdominal cramps or according to the mother, appendicitis. Eric is the only son and lives with his mother. With each appointment, Eric symptoms become more progressive, resulting in his hospitalization. As his length of stay increases, Eric’s doctor, Dr. Spencer begins to suspect that something is wrong and suspects Munchausen’s syndrome by proxy, however, none of the other hospital staff members believes Dr. Spencer. As Eric remains hospitalized, his hospital roommate, Ben, begins to develop similar symptoms Eric has been presenting. Dr. Spencer would like to monitor Eric’s mother without her knowledge, but the …show more content…

This paper will examine Munchhausen’s Syndrome by Proxy and the surveillance of families, describe and apply relevant principles of beneficence, nonmaleficence, and fidelity from the ANA Code of Ethics, discuss some available resources that might help resolve the dilemma and finally discuss the dilemma outcomes particular to this patient’s situation.
Surveillance of Families Munchausen by proxy syndrome presents one of the most ambiguous forms of child abuse as most perpetrators exemplify model parenting. In the case above, set in the year 1994, Eric’s mother, Monica seemed like a model parent. She was loving and cared for Eric despite being a single parent. However as the case continued to grow, following Dr. Spencer’s restraining order against Monica, it was found that Eric had a total of 26 hospitalizations for abdominal cramps prior to the present one. Dr. Spencer is left with no choice but to take matters into her own hands and determines the need for covert recordings to process as evidence in the court against the hospital’s knowledge. The problem she faces is whether surveillance of families without their knowledge and consent is acceptable evidence as well as morally acceptable. According to the Fourth Amendment to the Constitutions of the United States (1791): "The right of the people to be secure in their persons,

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