"Sometimes Nurses Are Forced to Hurt the Patient in Providing Medical Care"

Brown expressed her worries about how the quality of hospital care is influenced and measured by patient satisfaction. In fact, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services developed the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems survey to link Medicare reimbursements and bonuses to the scores reflected on the survey and evaluate behaviors related to the achievement of high-quality care such as communication, patient education regarding medications, discharge, and clarity of instructions in the hospital settings – all of which evaluates hospital levels of patients’ satisfaction.

The metrics of care developed is problematic as inflicting physical pain and emotional suffering are at times inseparable from the standard care. Brown (2012) identified recent researches, like those of Joshua Fenton and colleagues, which correlated higher satisfaction scores with greater use of hospital services and increased mortality (p. A35). Evaluating hospital care based on the ability to offer positive patient experiences must not be upheld at all times as hospitals are not hotels that only offer comfort but specialized facilities that are often inflicting pain to provide the care needed by the patient and to prevent longer suffering and serious complications.

The editorial addressed the issue through personal experiences, case studies, related research, and the effect of the current announcement in the reimbursement process. Brown proved through personal experience that at times, physicians and health care practitioners found conflicting roles between the principles of non-maleficence (to do no harm) and provision of appropriate and standard care. Through case studies of pleurodesis, the author of the editorial page argued that inflicting pain while doing the procedure is unavoidable. Brown also addressed the issue by citing related research about patient satisfaction and increased risks for hospital costs and haram. Lastly, the current provision of the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services was upheld to the readers, encouraging readers that patient satisfaction tools should be analyzed deeply prior to the reimbursement process.

The author agrees with the editorial article. There are times when nurses are put in a situation where inflicting pain or harm becomes part of the treatment and when standards of care conflict with ethical principles and patient’s bill of rights. This is called an ethical dilemma. Cases like this affect nursing care, critical thinking, and the quality of care being provided. The high pressure set by the society regarding minimizing the pain and maximizing patient satisfaction direct conscious-driven nursing care aimed towards the delivery of care that satisfies patient needs and developed nurses who think deeply before making a sound judgment.