Description:
Medical negligence and not following proper hospital protocol can pose safety concerns and even cost lives.
Objectives:
• Analyze situations requiring ethical judgments of Respiratory Therapists
• Explain the legal basis for the practice of Respiratory Therapy
• Identify the role of the Respiratory Therapist as a consumer advocate
Instructions:
Step 1: Read the following case, that took place in 2013, and be prepared to create a 3-5 page summary and response to the article and questions found in Step 2.
Step 2: Your paper must address the questions/topics found below. You are required to have a minimum of two, scholarly references and your work must be in proper APA format.
This case involves a patient who was admitted to the hospital for pneumonia in her right lung. The patient’s condition deteriorated and she was later moved to the ICU (Intensive Care Unit). The patient’s condition worsened and her cardiac and respiratory functions were believed to have ceased. The doctors at the hospital decided to intubate her and they inserted an endotracheal tube so she could be given respiratory support by a mechanical ventilator. The patient’s condition improved and the doctors decided to extubate her. The doctors did not consult the hospital’s respiratory therapist about the decision to remove the endotracheal tube. During the process of removing the tube, the doctor noticed that the patient was unable to respond to questions or instructions. After the extubation, the patient was unable to breathe properly and there was no air movement detected when the respiratory therapist checked the patient’s airway. When the doctors tried to reintubate the patient, her heart stopped. The respiratory therapist tried to locate a medium Number 4 MacIntosh laryngoscope blade but found that the medical coding cart in the ICU had not been restocked. The patient was later found brain dead due to suffocation. The patient died in a vegetative state and her family sued the hospital claiming that they were negligent in causing her death. A medical expert testified at trial that the hospital had failed to meet the proper standard of care by not communicating about the patient’s extubation and by not having the ICU Code cart stocked prior to the extubation
- What are the three main errors you personally believe occurred in this case, support your thoughts.
- Should a physician be required to seek approval from a respiratory therapist when it comes to situations of extubation? Support your thoughts.
- Whose “job” is it to restock carts, especially ICU carts? Support your thoughts.
- What should have been done differently in the above scenario to reduce the risk of injury/death to the patient? Support your thoughts.
- What is your hospital/employer’s protocol for situations as described above?