The ethical dilemma

The ethical dilemma in this week’s episode is a tough but common one that hospitals see quite often. In short, the dilemma is to either discharge an unstable patient because the insurance is no longer available or have the patient stay a couple more days and have her pay out of pocket. Ultimately, it is up to the patient, but neither choice is wrong or right. An ethical framework that the healthcare team members and their organization can use to help navigate the best plan of care is the Four Topics Methods. “The nurse or teams begin with relevant facts about a particular case and moves toward a resolution through a structured analysis” (Butts & Rich, 2023, pg. 60).

Regarding the “Conducting Moral and Ethical Dialog in Clinical Practice” exercise, I had a good experience with it. I enjoyed it as it is a common dilemma that we come across in healthcare. My personal and professional background did have an impact on my feelings regarding Joan’s situation because I do not believe that it is right. The idea of discharging a patient after the onset of the arm numbness does not sit well with me. I have the idea that as healthcare professionals, we should investigate the situation and get social workers and the utilization review team involved to assist in getting Joan more days in the hospital so more education can take place. To some extent, I felt that the administrators’ and practitioners’ responses were reasonable. For example, at some point, one of the nurses changed his mind from wanting to keep the patient in the hospital to wanting her to go home because her staying in the hospital puts her at a higher risk of contracting an infection. That would not be beneficial for the patient. In fact, it would apply harm to the patient. At the end of the day, despite my personal and professional background, it is important that I keep in mind the overall goal, which is patient safety, and consider what is best for the patient. My goal is not to cause harm to the patient, and the pros need to outweigh the cons.