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Ethical Issues in Mandatory COVID-19 Vaccination of Healthcare Personnel

Writer's picture: CamWAMS TeamCamWAMS Team

Summer has come and gone, school is in full swing and for a lot of you that also means finalising your medical school applications and getting through admissions tests. We know this can be a very intense time so don't forget to take breaks, relax and do things you enjoy and get enough sleep! We hope you find our resources useful for helping you through the application process. Food for Thought: an example interview question 'What challenges do healthcare professions currently face and what challenges are they likely to face in the future?'

A suggested approach to this question is available here on our website! Behind the Headlines: 'No Jab, No Job? Ethical Issues in Mandatory COVID-19 Vaccination of Healthcare Personnel' https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/2/e004877 A few months ago the government announced that all care home staff must be fully vaccinated under a new law in order to protect residents. Now, there is a government consultation in which they are considering compulsory Covid and flu jabs for frontline NHS and care workers in England.

This article published in the BMJ explores the ethical and practical arguments for and against mandatory vaccination for healthcare professionals (HCPs). It explores the concept of ‘do no harm’, which relates to the non-maleficencepillar of medical ethics, in that healthcare workers should wherever possible avoid doing harm to their patients. In this situation, taking the vaccine reduces the risk of contracting and transmitting the virus to patients who may already be ill and vulnerable to infection. However, we must also remember that healthcare professionals are people and ‘patients’ under the NHS themselves - their autonomy must be valued also. In addition to the pillars of medical ethics, the concept of utilitarianism (producing the most good for the greatest number of people) is also explored. Would the good done by the increase in proportion of HCPs fully vaccinated morally outweigh what some would consider a loss of their rights within their workplace? One could also argue that HCPs have a duty to set an example for the public. Where do we draw the line between the duty to represent the NHS without compromising an individuals beliefs? Furthermore in a more logistical sense, introducing mandatory vaccination could have the opposite effect to that desired - it could cause shortages of workers e.g. due to delay in vaccine uptake or workers leaving the NHS because they refuse to be vaccinated or they no longer want to work for an organisation where vaccines are mandated. This would be counterproductive as it would only increase 'NHS backlog' from the pandemic. So what do you think? Should all healthcare workers be required to have the COVID-19 vaccine? Perhaps only those in direct contact with COVID-19 patients? Or should it remain optional? We could go round and round in circles discussing this topic (and such is the nature of medical ethics and policy) but it’s important that we, the doctors and healthcare workers of the future, engage in these conversations and form our own opinions based on evidence.

Myth-buster ‘If I don’t get into medicine at 18 I won’t ever be a doctor or I’ll be at a significant disadvantage.’

Getting into medical school is tough and not everyone will be offered a place the first time round. This can be devastating when you’ve been working towards it for a long time and have put as much effort in as you can. However, there are ways to get into medicine other than applying to the standard 5/6 year ourse straight out of secondary school. These include foundation year courses, reapplying after a gap year and doing graduate medicine (typically 4 years) after an undergraduate degree. Nisha, our Graduate Representative, is a 2nd year student on the graduate medicine course. Click here to read about her unconventional journey to give you some insight into alternative routes into medicine!

Link of the Month With the application deadline fast approaching, you'll probably be making the final decisions as to which medical schools you want to apply to. Part of this process is identifying your strengths and playing to them to maximise your chances of getting an offer. The Medic Portal has a great medical school comparison tool where you can compare GCSE and A level requirements, how they use the UCAT and BMAT in the selection process and the interview style at different medical schools: https://www.themedicportal.com/application-guide/choosing-a-medical-school/comparisontool/ The Medic Portal has tons great resources that will be useful throughout the application process so it's definitely a website to bookmark! Also, head to our website to access our resource bank from our annual MedLife Access Day including recordings of the talks, PowerPoint slides and answered questions on personal statements, BMAT and interview advice:www.camwams.co.uk/medlife-2021. The password is medlife2021.

Thanks for reading – if you have any questions then as ever please just email us at access@clinsoc.co.uk! We wish you the best of luck with your applications! Love, CamWAMS Committee

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