Medical Ethics - Case Study Example

Medical Ethics A doctor as the in charge of operations in the hospital should always make sure that he or she directs the nurses on the best ways of handling patients. In the case of pain management, the doctor should recommend necessary steps and methods of adequately assessing the pain situation since it is the only way of determining the extent to which situation is developing (Lammers, 2012). In the case of the elderly patient, the doctor did not instruct his nurses to do a thorough assessment of the situation who rather based their diagnosis on the previous health records.

On the other hand, the doctor’s absence does not imply that he cannot monitor the patient because management of healthcare records has been made possible through integrated information systems. Therefore, he could refer to the hospital’s database and monitor the situation of the patient. After the sister raises an alarm, it is quite evident that the hospital is not adhering to pain treatment policies set by the state regulatory agency. The policy of the hospital has failed since the staff believes that the patient is demanding and this attitude may be prevalent in the healthcare facility because of the policies might be promoting such behaviors.

Besides, the doctor just agrees to try Nalfon without considering the residual effects on the patient like severe gastric bleeding thus the hospital’s pain management policies are far from meeting the set standards. Utilitarianism theory can be applicable in pain management situations since the theory recommends that individuals should take courses of actions that have least potential harms to those affected (Lammers, 2012). In the case scenario, the hospital’s management should understand that upgrading their policies to the standards of the state agency will help in efficient management of pain.

Therefore, the theory seemingly suggests that management of pain should focus on the well-being of the patients. The theory can also be used to address other issues in the case especially wrong medical prescriptions to the patients as well as showing little empathy to those receiving care as evident in manner in which the nurses think that the elderly woman is too demanding. ReferenceLammers, S. E. (2012). On moral medicine: theological perspectives in medical ethics. M. T. Lysaught, & J. J. Kotva Jr (Eds.). Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing.