Question

Case:

You have recently been hired as an OR nurse at Community Hospital. Recently divorced and the mother of two very small children, you were thrilled and relieved to get a job with these hours at the only hospital in this small mid-western city. However, on your second day, you are confronted with an unusual situation. A 35-year-old woman is scheduled to undergo the surgical removal of a benign uterine tumor. While preparing for surgery, you discover that the two physicians performing the surgery are using equipment they are neither familiar with nor authorized to use. In addition, a sales person from the medical device manufacturer that makes the equipment used in the surgery operates the controls while the physicians perform the procedure. You express concern that you are not trained in assisting with the equipment. The physicians tell you not to worry because the sales person is operating the controls. You quietly ask another nurse if that is allowed by hospital policy and she says no. However, she shrugs and whispers, “They do it all the time. It’s not worth making a fuss about if you want to keep your job. Just go along and do what you’re told. It’ll be fine.”

1. create arguments and counter-arguments to the case. Work to answer each of your ethical questions as you discuss the arguments and counter-arguments. Remember, the arguments should reflect one pathway for action, while the counter-arguments reflect all of the reasons why you might not take that path. The counter-arguments should also logically lead to alternate options for action. Be sure that you are supporting both sides with credible information from the literature, both that contained in the relevant facts and new information that helps strengthen your arguments on both sides.

2.Make a list of the options for action. These options should flow logically from the arguments and counter-arguments. Based upon your discussion to this point.

You should conclude the case with a summary of what you might have done differently in order to improve the process. Were you always focused on the patient, or did some members at times lose sight of the patient in the bed in favor of their own thoughts or positions? How did you know that you reached a consensus on key points?

Answer 1

thanks