Healthcare organization is an area where ethics is of great concern. With healthcare institutions adopting different technologies, issues such as privacy, confidentiality, and consent regarding the use of clients' data are sensitive. As a physician, high standard of ethics should be upheld while interacting with the patient ( Stewart et al., 2019).
Scenario
As a nurse working at a night shift in an emergency room, I once got involved in a serious ethical issue that almost brought to an end my glittering career. At around midnight, I got a patient who was suffering from serious injuries after a car accident. The patient was one of the top musicians in town, and he was about to perform at a party that I was to attend before being allocated a duty at night shift in the hospital. My friends were already at the party, and they were busy updating me through social media about the party. It was at this time that I realized the unconscious patient on the bed was the same musician that was to perform. With excitement, I took out my smartphone and took several photos with him and posted them on my Facebook wall. It was one of the biggest mistakes of my career. The next day, it was a disaster at the disciplinary office where the management handled the case.
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How the Case was Handled
The pressure was not only on me but also on the hospital administrator, who was anticipating how he will handle the matter in case the patient was to come in terms with the reality and file a lawsuit. In my position, I was shocked because, not that I did not understand the ethics of using patient data, but because I took a photo and posted on a public platform. I knew that my job was hanging on a thread. In the end, I got a two months suspension from the hospital, and when I came back, I was to undergo a three months training on ethics. Further, I was also to go for mandatory ethical counseling, which, in my view, was just a punishment for my unethical actions.
Behaviours
There were different reactions to these behaviors. At first, the administrator was concerned with the image of the hospital and the staff once the reality was out there in the media. He then changed his attitude and concentrated on me after getting the news that the patient had not seen the photos. He then encourages us not to share the photo and call for them to be deleted. He wanted an immediate apology to the patient so that the information could not leak. The disciplinary personnel was a concern about the consequences. To them, the outcome was the foremost important thing, and there was no need to alert the musician who could miss the picture unless told. After being told that the patient had not seen the photos, it was when they relieved me of my duties. The last group was my colleagues, who rebuked my action and question, my integrity, and morality.
Ethical philosophy
From the assessment, utilitarianism could explain the administrator's behaviors. To him, as long as a result was affecting fewer people, in this case, the musician alone and not the entire hospital, it was at least fare. To the disciplinary personnel, consequentialism ethical philosophy could explain their thinking ( Al Balushi, 2019). The consequences of my actions were so dear to them than what I did. On my colleagues' side, value ethics could explain their reactions. They saw my action as a lack of ethical values that are necessary not only for a nurse but also for society.
Lesson learned
There was no mishandling of any decision leading to my suspension. However, I had myself to blame. However, I questioned not only myself but the disciplinary personnel because this was a serious matter, and its result could not be the only key area to warrant a stern action ( Berglund et al., 2018). I also question the position of the administrator because he was to some extent ignoring the impact of my behavior on the musician's image. He was concerned with the hospital and not the musician. In all cases, though, it was my last time involving in in such an action as I vowed to improve on my ethics.
References
Al Balushi, A. A. (2019). The Ethics and Legality of Using Personal Smartphones to take Medical Photographs. Sultan Qaboos University Medical Journal , 19 (2), e99.
Berglund, E., Claesson, A., Nordberg, P., Djärv, T., Lundgren, P., Folke, F., ...&Ringh, M. (2018). A smartphone application for dispatch of lay responders to out-of-hospital cardiac arrests. Resuscitation , 126 , 160-165.
Stewart, J. J., Fayed, I., Henault, S., Kalantar, B., &Voyadzis, J. M. (2019). Use of a Smartphone Application for Spine Surgery Improves Patient Adherence with Preoperative Instructions and Decreases Last-minute Surgery Cancellations. Cureus , 11 (3).
