Application of Ethical Principles to a Possible Solution

Matters took a sudden turn for the worse one morning, when the operating room supervisor informed Straight about the possibility that they could have left a needle protector in a patient’s (Mrs. Jameson) belly during a recent surgery. The supervisor thought that the needle protector might have been difficult to see if it was in a wound because they are red-pink in color. Although he was not absolutely sure of the connection of the two incidents, he said a discrepancy had been noted in terms of the needle protector when comparing the records of the surgery pack after a week. Straight suggested that they should take the patient back into surgery immediately so that they could check if the protector had really been left inside and remove it if so. They could tell her that they merely intended to check her deep sutures and incision and in this way, she would never know what they were looking for. However, this option seemed impossible because Mrs. Jameson had been discharged a few days ago.

Furthermore, the supervisor said Dr. Cutrite had warned them against informing the patient, saying that the needle cover could not possibly hurt her apart from causing her a little discomfort. When Straight called the chief of surgery for clarification, he said while it would cause occasional discomfort and not lead to life-threatening effects, nothing could be said for sure. The dilemma that Straight faces is to choose between two equally terrible options: calling back Mrs. Jameson and performing the surgery to check or ignoring the issue as suggested by Cutrite. The first option would not only be damaging to Dr. Cutrite’s career in Hopewell but the reputation of Hopewell as well, while opening up a possible lawsuit by the patient and her family. The second option would leave Straight terribly burdened about not doing the right thing as well as risk something happening to the patient as a result of the oversight.

Analysis of the Ethical Issues

The main factor that contributes to Straight’s ethical dilemma is the lack of accountability within the medical team. The persons in charge of counting the surgical pack did not notice the discrepancy in time because that would have resolved the issue before the patient was discharged. It shows laxity on the part of the supervisor. Moreover, it also shows negligence on the part of the medical team because they clearly did not check all the boxes before finalizing the surgery with the patient. The third issue was non-acknowledgment of the mistake as well as any responsibility for the action by Dr. Cutrite. The problem would not have been caused if all of them had been doing their tasks well and taken responsibility for the oversight, which would have been the ethical thing to do.

Using the Ethical Decision-Making Model

The above mentioned ethical problem can be analyzed using the three components of the ethical decision-making model, that is, moral awareness, judgment, and ethical behavior. Moral awareness is the ability to recognize an ethical problem (Trevino & Nelson, 2007). Straight exhibits this moral awareness by the fact that he recognizes the ethical problem in which he feels compelled to take action. Judgment involves deciding the right and wrong action in a certain situation (Trevino & Nelson, 2007). His judgment is reflected when he suggests that the patient should be taken back to surgery if the needle cover had indeed been left behind. If Straight decides to act ethically, he would undertake to resolve the issue, influenced by his judgment and the four principles of healthcare ethics.

The Effectiveness of the Communication Approaches

Effective communication between professionals is of great significance in healthcare settings because it promotes efficiency and leads to better health outcomes (Arnold & Boggs, 2019). In the case study, Straight demonstrates excellent communication skills. For example, he is an active listener throughout the conversation. He listened to the supervisor’s message carefully and quickly grasped the situation. In this way, he was able to respond appropriately to resolve the problem professionally. Another important aspect of the communication approach in the case is empathy. Straight was shocked by the news that a needle protector may have been left in a patient’s belly during surgery and was deeply concerned about the problems it might cause her. Thus, he immediately began thinking of an appropriate way to solve the problem.

The communication approaches that should be used more include active listening, proper tone, and politeness while those that should be avoided include inappropriate tone and improper language. The consequence of using effective approaches during communication is that it enables the involved parties to communicate effectively and understand each other (Fagerlin, Zikmund-Fisher, &am