The Globe & Mail recently ran an interesting piece called “Nurse, who should see the doctor first?”, which challenged readers to prioritize 4 hypothetical visitors to an ER. The question: who should be seen first by a doctor, and why?
The 4 patients (described in greater detail in the article) were…
A man complaining of chest pains and shortness of breath following a long airplane flight.
A young woman with a painful sprained ankle.
A middle-aged man with a headache, blurred vision and an inability to use his right arm.
A senior man who’d shot himself in the hand with a nail gun.
The follow-up piece, featuring the wisdom of an experienced ER nurse, is here: “What would a nurse do?”
Here’s the order recommended:
#1 The middle-aged man with a headache, blurred vision and an inability to use his right arm.
#2 The man complaining of chest pains and shortness of breath following a long airplane flight.
#3 The young woman with a painful sprained ankle.
#4 The senior who’d shot himself in the hand with a nail gun.
It would be easy — and useful — to add details to each patient’s story to make this into a good exercise for an ethics class.
Questions for disucussion:
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Should it matter if one of the patients is homeless?
Should it matter if one of the patients is a “whiner”?
Should it matter if one of the patients is a verbally abusive?
Should it matter if the nail gun injury is the man’s “own ‘fault”?
Should it matter if one of the patients is a local celebrity?
Should it matter if the girl with the sprained ankle is the daughter of a major donor to the hospital?
Should it matter if the patient is a “frequent flyer” (i.e., someone who visits the ER quite often, perhaps seeking attention)?
This is a great example of the close interconnection between nursing skills and ethical decision making.
The Nursing Ethics Blog 