Developing Health Care Perspective Applying Ethical Principles

OLD SCHOOL OR OUT OF TOUCH? 1 Old School or Out of Touch? Sarai Artires Capella University Developing a

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Health Care Perspective Applying Ethical Principles January 2019 OLD SCHOOL OR OUT OF TOUCH? 2 Old School or Out of Touch? As the years have gone by, evidence-based practice has progressed how we treat patients. New concepts have been demonstrated to avoid complications, previously caused by medical errors, medication administration, and steps in procedures. Meanwhile, everyone in the health care field must adapt and learn any revision. However, “Age is often associated with a decline in cognitive abilities that are important for maintaining functional independence, such as learning new skills.” (Clark R, Freedberg M, Hazeltine E, Voss MW, 2015). With that being said, we understand that, as we get older, the capability of learning new approaches becomes uneasy after having the experience for so many years. In this short story “Old School or Out of Touch?” Dr. Lacey has practiced many years treating all his patients with symptomatic SOB with the same treatment (Lasix). Evidence-based practice has proved that those interventions must be changed to ensure the life of the patients better. The approach of treatment for shortness of breath is not always Lasix unless it has been ruled out any cardiac congestion. The conflict in this short story involves the decision making of Dr. Corey Davidson as the new Emergency Department Director to take away the privileges of Dr. Lacey that has been practicing medicine longer than the hospital even existed. Director of Nursing, Margaret Truman had acknowledged the need for an ethical decision regarding the common issue of medication administration for SOB by Dr. Lacey. Once this ethical dilemma was recognized and processed, including moral rights, cost-benefit, fairness or justice, a judgment of right or wrong was analyzed to reach the ethical decision making this situation required certainly. OLD SCHOOL OR OUT OF TOUCH? 3 Utilitarianism is among the most widely debated moral theories, in which the happiness of the greatest number of people in society is considered the greatest good. Actions are considered morally right if it brings the greatest good to the greatest amount. In this case, Corey Davidson has three choices; converse with Dr. Lacey about better methods of dealing with the condition, talk to him about retirement, and omitting to act. Davidson’s main aim is to ensure that patients are not put under any harm because of Dr. Lacey’s insistence to traditional methods. Dr. Lacey is used to his old methods, and at her age, it would be hard for him to learn new methods. He feels comfortable using her old method which is not bad, but it is harming the patients — getting him to realize that he needs to won’t be easy. He may also feel like he is being undermined if he is told that his methods don’t work and there is need for him to upgrade. Retirement is the best option because it is easy and benefits a lot of people which includes the patients that Dr. Lacey would have been handling and the nurses who would have had to recheck Dr. Lacey’s treatment options to see whether they are up to standard. When talking to Dr. Lacey, Davidson should not make Dr. Lacey feel incompetent but rather talk about changes that have happened and the need for him to take a break from the profession. Retirement will help the hospital because they will bring in a doctor who will treat patients with modern methodologies which are more effective. It will also help Dr. Lacey because he won’t have to deal with the pressure that comes with being a doctor and will have the chance to relax and enjoy old age. Omitting to act in a situation like this will eventually bring more readmissions due to the failure of patient treatment goal and even high mortality percent rate of the hospital. When trying to decide, based on most patients in comparison to staff, the right choice is to remove the authority position from the hospital. A doctor can be immediately replaceable, but OLD SCHOOL OR OUT OF TOUCH? 4 a life cannot be brought back. It’s morally correct to take this action and discontinue the privileges to cause harm by Dr. Lacey potentially. An approach like this needs to be assertive, in a one to one discussion and respect the rights of an employee. “Understanding and appreciating professional roles and responsibilities and communicating effectively emerged as the two perceived core competencies for patient-centered collaborative practice.” (Suter, E. Role understanding and effective communication as core competencies for collaborative practice, 2009). Code of conduct, laws, and regulations need to be applied when confronting this situation. This outcome will bring beneficence to most of our incoming patients. This will be bringing confidence to patients regarding their stay at Crosby Community Hospital, as well as security to other medical staff including nurses that won’t need to be supervising Dr. Lacey for mistakes. When talking to Dr. Lacey about his decision, Davidson should not make Dr. Lacey feel incompetent. He should listen to him and try to understand his reasons for sticking with the traditional methods. Afterward, he will talk to him about the advancements that have been done in the field and why there is a need to change with the changing times. He will then introduce the idea of retirement. He should appeal to his emotions and make him feel that the retirement was his idea. The matter is a sensitive one, and there is a need to protect Dr. Lacey’s feelings from hurt. In conclusion, in the health care field, ethics is the most basic and important subject. Health care professionals, encounter situations daily in which ethical judgment must be made and actions must be taken. But with the four main principles of autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, and justice, patients will be honored by their rights, and we can ensure a positive outcome for our patients. OLD SCHOOL OR OUT OF TOUCH? 5 References Clark, Rachel. (2015). PLOS. Are There Age-Related Differences in the Ability to Learn Configural Responses. Retrieved from http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0137260. Vermont Ethics Network. (2011). Health care ethics: Overview of the basics. Retrieved from http://www.vtethicsnetwork.org/ethics. Suter, Esther. (2009). Journal of Interprofessional Care. Role understanding and Effective communication as core competencies for collaborative practice. Retrieved from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs. Trevino, L. K., Nelson, K. A. (2007). Business ethics: Straight talk about how to do it right.
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