Should Healthcare Professionals Be Allowed to Make Mistakes?

by | Feb 24, 2024 | Health

 

The high rates of malpractice suits raise the question, “Should healthcare professionals not be allowed to make any mistakes?” Consider the following case. In your estimation, is failing to pursue further testing simply a mistake? Consider this from the point of view of the risk manager and of the patient’s spouse.

A 38-year-old female was admitted to the emergency room of Goodcare Hospital with symptoms that suggested a gastrointestinal problem. The attending physician performed all the routine tests, and the results were normal. During the time the patient was in the ER, she had uncontrolled diarrhea and grew weaker. The medication given did not help. The patient died, and the autopsy revealed that she was suffering from giardiasis, an intestinal parasitic infection. This infection is not detected by routine parasitic testing. If detected, the infection can be effectively treated with antibiotics. In this case, if the patient had been correctly diagnosed, she would likely have recovered quickly and lived. The attending physician was sued for negligence for failing to diagnose the infection. A jury awarded the woman’s husband $725,000.

To support your work,, cite your sources in your work and provide references for the citations in APA format.

 

Sample solution

Dante Alighieri played a critical role in the literature world through his poem Divine Comedy that was written in the 14th century. The poem contains Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. The Inferno is a description of the nine circles of torment that are found on the earth. It depicts the realms of the people that have gone against the spiritual values and who, instead, have chosen bestial appetite, violence, or fraud and malice. The nine circles of hell are limbo, lust, gluttony, greed and wrath. Others are heresy, violence, fraud, and treachery. The purpose of this paper is to examine the Dante’s Inferno in the perspective of its portrayal of God’s image and the justification of hell. 

In this epic poem, God is portrayed as a super being guilty of multiple weaknesses including being egotistic, unjust, and hypocritical. Dante, in this poem, depicts God as being more human than divine by challenging God’s omnipotence. Additionally, the manner in which Dante describes Hell is in full contradiction to the morals of God as written in the Bible. When god arranges Hell to flatter Himself, He commits egotism, a sin that is common among human beings (Cheney, 2016). The weakness is depicted in Limbo and on the Gate of Hell where, for instance, God sends those who do not worship Him to Hell. This implies that failure to worship Him is a sin.


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God is also depicted as lacking justice in His actions thus removing the godly image. The injustice is portrayed by the manner in which the sodomites and opportunists are treated. The opportunists are subjected to banner chasing in their lives after death followed by being stung by insects and maggots. They are known to having done neither good nor bad during their lifetimes and, therefore, justice could have demanded that they be granted a neutral punishment having lived a neutral life. The sodomites are also punished unfairly by God when Brunetto Lattini is condemned to hell despite being a good leader (Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). While he commited sodomy, God chooses to ignore all the other good deeds that Brunetto did.

Finally, God is also portrayed as being hypocritical in His actions, a sin that further diminishes His godliness and makes Him more human. A case in point is when God condemns the sin of egotism and goes ahead to commit it repeatedly. Proverbs 29:23 states that “arrogance will bring your downfall, but if you are humble, you will be respected.” When Slattery condemns Dante’s human state as being weak, doubtful, and limited, he is proving God’s hypocrisy because He is also human (Verdicchio, 2015). The actions of God in Hell as portrayed by Dante are inconsistent with the Biblical literature. Both Dante and God are prone to making mistakes, something common among human beings thus making God more human.

To wrap it up, Dante portrays God is more human since He commits the same sins that humans commit: egotism, hypocrisy, and injustice. Hell is justified as being a destination for victims of the mistakes committed by God. The Hell is presented as being a totally different place as compared to what is written about it in the Bible. As a result, reading through the text gives an image of God who is prone to the very mistakes common to humans thus ripping Him off His lofty status of divine and, instead, making Him a mere human. Whether or not Dante did it intentionally is subject to debate but one thing is clear in the poem: the misconstrued notion of God is revealed to future generations.

 

References

Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). Dante’s inferno: Seven deadly sins in scientific publishing and how to avoid them. Addiction Science: A Guide for the Perplexed, 267.

Cheney, L. D. G. (2016). Illustrations for Dante’s Inferno: A Comparative Study of Sandro Botticelli, Giovanni Stradano, and Federico Zuccaro. Cultural and Religious Studies, 4(8), 487.

Verdicchio, M. (2015). Irony and Desire in Dante’s” Inferno” 27. Italica, 285-297.

Sample Answer

Sample Answer

 

 

Should Healthcare Professionals Be Allowed to Make Mistakes?

The issue of whether healthcare professionals should be allowed to make mistakes is a complex and ethically challenging question, especially in the context of high rates of malpractice suits. In the case presented, where a patient’s death was attributed to a missed diagnosis of giardiasis, the implications of failing to pursue further testing go beyond a simple mistake. From the perspectives of the risk manager and the patient’s spouse, different considerations come into play regarding accountability, patient safety, and legal implications.

Risk Manager’s Perspective

From the risk manager’s viewpoint, the failure to diagnose the giardiasis infection raises concerns about medical errors, patient safety, and liability. In healthcare settings, risk managers are tasked with identifying potential risks, implementing preventive measures, and addressing adverse events to mitigate harm to patients and reduce legal exposure for the institution. In this case, the oversight in not pursuing further testing to detect an uncommon but treatable condition could be deemed a deviation from the standard of care, leading to increased vulnerability to malpractice claims and financial consequences for the hospital (Carroll & McGraw, 2019).

Patient’s Spouse Perspective

For the patient’s spouse, who lost their loved one due to a missed diagnosis, the emotional and psychological impact of the healthcare professional’s error is profound. From their perspective, the failure to accurately diagnose and treat the giardiasis infection resulted in a preventable tragedy that could have been averted with timely intervention. The subsequent lawsuit and monetary compensation awarded by the jury reflect not only the financial repercussions but also the quest for accountability, justice, and closure in the face of medical negligence (Sage & Kachalia, 2018).

Conclusion

In conclusion, while healthcare professionals are not infallible and may make mistakes due to various factors such as diagnostic challenges or system failures, the consequences of errors can have far-reaching effects on patients’ lives and well-being. In cases like the one presented, where a missed diagnosis led to a patient’s death, the ethical and legal implications underscore the imperative for continuous learning, quality improvement initiatives, and a culture of open communication and transparency in healthcare organizations to prevent similar incidents in the future.

References

– Carroll, A. E., & McGraw, S. A. (2019). Medical error disclosure: Can we get beyond rhetoric? AMA Journal of Ethics, 21(3), E237-242.
– Sage, W. M., & Kachalia, A. (2018). Disclosure of medical error. JAMA, 320(12), 1243-1244.

 

 

 

 

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