Ethical Dilemma Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Ethical Dilemma - Article Example Consequently, my aunt lost sight in her right eye. The Persons Involved The people who were involved in the entire mishap were my aunt, the surgeon who was to remove the cataract and the staff who later came following my aunt’s continuous moaning. Decisions made and the Reasons Initially, the procedure seemed to be going on as planned until my aunt started screaming and shaking in pain. It was noted that though two nurses and the surgeon had clearly checked as well as verified that indeed the bottle was filled with lidocaine, the surgeon mistakenly injected her with formaldehyde. If the government had come to discover the malpractice, they would have ended up ending their practice and leaving most of the natives without proper healthcare. Consequently, the doctors decided not to inform us of their actions, leaving us to believe that a poisonous fly had hurt my aunt’s eye. Steps to the Ethical Decision Making Process and their Effectiveness The nurses in this case failed to follow an ethical process as they were not careful enough to ensure that all medicines were labeled appropriately. Additionally, Lipe and Beasley (2004, pp. 233-234) assert that nurses owe their patients a duty of care and the truth in regard to their health, but in this case they failed. For this reason, we had to seek a different opinion from another hospital where it was reported that indeed the surgeon had administered the wrong drugs, causing blindness. What followed were lawsuits, whereby, the hospital was sued for negligence and incompetence and the nurses as well as the surgeon ended up losing their practicing license. The court ordered the defendant to compensate the complainant and ordered for the closure of the hospital. Although compensation did... Asa the discussion declares when a medical error causes a patient to lose her eyesight, the medical staff ends up being put in a complex situation. In case they publicly admit the mistake, they end up losing the trust of the people as well as their aptitude to practice medicine. However, by failing to admit their mistake, they end up lying and endangering the lives of other patients as well as bleaching their duty of care. According to the report findings the procedure seemed to be going on as planned until my aunt started screaming and shaking in pain. It was noted that though two nurses and the surgeon had clearly checked as well as verified that indeed the bottle was filled with lidocaine, the surgeon mistakenly injected her with formaldehyde. If the government had come to discover the malpractice, they would have ended up ending their practice and leaving most of the natives without proper healthcare. Consequently, the doctors decided not to inform us of their actions, leaving us to believe that a poisonous fly had hurt my aunt’s eye. The health professionals are supposed to tell the truth, since they are held to a higher standard by the public, both professionally and morally. On the same note, letting the incident go unpunished could have led to more similar incidents. In this case, the health professionals should have taken an action to tell the truth as it was the moral thing to do and o ffer advice to my aunt on an alternative measure she could undertake in order to recover her sight.