Scouts or Scoutmaster In the emergency situation described in the assignment the actions of the paramedic are more or less defined. From the viewpoint of deontology (or duty-oriented reasoning), an experienced emergency medical technician must do everything he or she can to save both the scoutmaster and the scouts. Even if it looks like the only way to save the scouts is to sacrifice the scoutmaster, the paramedic must try to save the scoutmaster too, first because he or she is a live person in need of immediate assistance, and secondly because it is the duty of paramedics to help people in need of urgent medical assistance. On the other hand, from the viewpoint of consequentialism, saving multiple young lives is much more important than saving one (which does not mean this one life is unimportant). Thus, the only possible outcome is to sacrifice the scoutmaster, provided that it is the only way. It should taken into account though that the scoutmaster is responsible for the safety and well being of the entire group of scouts by definition, and so he or she must understand that he/she must sacrifice his/her life if the lives of scout group are at stake. Ultimately, it is better to save several lives than one, especially if this lone person caused the malicious situation. Surely, a paramedic should explain the alternatives to the scoutmaster in this situation if he/she has no dignity, responsibility, or virtues. And surely this paramedic must do his/her best to save the scoutmaster as well. And if and only if sacrificing the leader of the scout group is the only way to save the scouts the paramedic should consider the malicious alternative. Bibliography 1. Wikipedia contributors (2006). Paramedic. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved January 10, 2006 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paramedic 2. Wikipedia contributors (2006). Deontological ethics. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved January 10, 2006 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deontology 3. Fregmen, Bonnie F. (2005). Medical law and ethics. Prentice Hall.