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Prelude to the medical error case study
Essay on medical errors
Prelude to the medical error case study
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The world of medicine is a difficult field, in which doctors encounter troublesomes situations that they must overcome in order to save a patient’s life. In his three part nonfiction novel, Complications, Atul Gawande, argues that medicine is an imperfect science and doctors experience fallibility, mystery and uncertainty throughout their careers. Gawande utilizes personal stories to help the audience comprehend the struggles doctors encounter. Overall, I was convinced by Gawande’s thesis, that medicine is imperfect, because of two of his real life anecdotes, including the case of red leg and a doctor, who became accustomed to making mistakes. In order to prove his thesis, Gawande uses a patient case, where the young woman is infected with
Due to the unfortunate incident that happened recently and resulted in EMTALA violations by a DeTar Emergency Department Staff, it in of grave importance that DeTar Hospital develop policies and procedures that will eradicate deficient practices promptly and put in place sustainable solutions to prevent a reoccurrence.
Dr. Atul Gawande, a Harvard Medical School graduate and writer for The New Yorker, phenomenally illustrates the unknown side of healthcare professions in his book, Complications: A Surgeon’s Notes on an Imperfect Science. By exploring the ethical and analytical aspects of medicine while entertaining readers with relatable anecdotes, Gawande impresses on his audience the importance of recognizing the wonders of the healthcare field, as well as the fallibility of those within it.
The main medical issues in this novel are related to the suspicious deaths of individuals in contact with Dr. Moe Mathis and medical malpractice cases. First of all, Casey, Mathis’s young and healthy colt died of a sudden death. As Dr. Mathis performed an autopsy on him, he found that the horse ingested blue pills. He identified the pills as Coumadin, a blood thinner. This would explain the animal’s death due to an extensive hemorrhage. Hence, his death would probably be a premediated murder. Moreover, Mr. Swensen, a patient of Dr. Mathis whom was diagnosed with stage IV prostate cancer, shortly died after surgery of a cause identified as pulmonary embolus. It was found that he was misdiagnosed and did not have any cancer at all. This showed a medical
In the text, Gawande states, “I punctured a patient’s lung, for example-the right lung of a chief of surgery from another hospital, no less-and given the odds, I’m sure such things will happen again.” This shows how fatal errors can occur during a surgical procedure however, it is something that surgical residents have to grow accustomed to since mistakes like this are likely to reoccur. Gawande also mentions that when practicing on a patient, mistakes are bound to happen however, it is a part of learning. In the text, Gawande states, “She let me continue with the next steps, which I bumbled through. I didn’t realize how long and floppy the guide wire was until I pulled the coil of its plastic sleeve, and, putting one end of it into the patient, I very nearly contaminated the other.” This quote proves that although mistakes can happen, it is a part of the learning process. In this specific part, Gawande talks about how he nearly made a severe error however, he was able to learn from his mistake and complete the procedure successfully. This shows how practicing on patients is necessary for the advancement of the medical field. Therefore, although ethical and practical tensions may arise, practicing on patients is needed in order to save the lives of many in the long
Guanyin (Bodhisattva) (See Fig. 1 in Appendix) is an artefact, with Object Number of 2400, in the Honolulu Museum of Art. The medium, or material, of this sculpture of Guanyin is painted wood, and traces of pigment can still be seen on the sculpture. Its height is approximately 67 inches, or 170.2 centimeters. The origin of this sculpture is China, Northern Song (960-1126) or Tangut Xia (1038-1227). According to the museum, this sculptural art piece was purchased, or acquired, in 1927 from a renowned collection of Matsukata Kojiro, who passed away in 1950.
In the essay “When Doctors Make Mistakes” written by Atul Gawande, he writes a first-hand account of mistakes made by himself and his colleagues. The essay is divided into five parts, each named to the narrative and emotions of the story he would tell. In each story he tells, he uses such vivid language that we as readers feel as if we are one of his colleagues. Each section has its own importance to the whole point he was trying to get across, ““All doctors make terrible mistakes” (657).
Diligence is a virtue. This is a theme Atul Gawande presents to the reader throughout Better: A Surgeon’s Notes on Performance. In each story, Gawande provides insight on medical studies he has previously embarked upon. For example, in “The Mop-up” the author tells us about a time when he went to India to observe the efforts to eradicate polio. Gawande explains how he followed a supervisor around and how vaccinations were performed. Additionally, in another chapter he debates on whether physicians should take part in death sentences. Throughout his adventures Gawande provides numerous enriching personal accounts of controversial events and what it is like to be a doctor; each with diligence playing a key part.
For countless years there has always been an urgent need for doctors. Different methods would be used to cure people from their sicknesses. However, life is given by God and it is he who can take it away. Doctors play the role of saving lives, but in the end, they are powerless because nature has to take its course leaving humanity at its limits. In Vincent Lams novel “Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures”, Lam challenges the myth that doctors are omnipotent by contending that “medicine is a science of uncertainty and an art of probability”. Using Fitzgerald as a focal point, Lam debunks the myth that doctors are omnipotent through situations of medical failure, having a loss of power and control and by inhabiting deadly diseases. By showings his mistakes, Lam proves that Fitz is not perfect and God like.
Dr. Gawande emphasizes the value of making mistakes, and how it is a core component of his daily life as a physician. His mistakes are dependent on the “good choices or bad choices” he makes, and regardless of the result that occurs, he learns more about himself as a physician, and more about his connection with patients (215). Critic Joan Smith of The Guardian newspaper mentions that although his various stories about “terrifying” mistakes that doctors make induce fear and a sense of squeamishness within the reader, it is the “emphasis that human beings are not machines” that is “oddly reassuring” (Smith). For example, in the essay, “When Doctors Make Mistakes”, Gawande is standing over his patient Louise Williams, viewing her “lips blue, her throat swollen, bloody, and suddenly closed” (73).
Surgical errors are seen in every hospital; however, hospitals are not required to report such incidents. Unintended retained foreign objects, often abbreviated as URFOs, are among those events that are often not reported.
Almost doctors and physicians in the world have worked at a hospital, so they must know many patients’ circumstances. They have to do many medical treatments when the patients come to the emergency room. It looks like horror films with many torture scenes, and the patients have to pay for their pains. The doctors have to give the decisions for every circumstance, so they are very stressful. They just want to die instead of suffering those medical treatments. In that time, the patients’ family just believes in the doctors and tells them to do whatever they can, but the doctors just do something that 's possible. Almost patients have died after that expensive medical treatments, but the doctors still do those medical procedures. That doctors did not have enough confidence to tell the truth to the patients’ families. Other doctors have more confidence, so they explain the health condition to the patients’ families. One time, the author could not save his patient, and the patient had found another doctor to help her. That doctor decided to cut her legs, but the patient still died in fourteen days
Medical technology is known for its quality, safety, and efficiency. It not only cures patients but increases the hope one needs to raise the survival rate after a sever surgery. Maluses of medical instrument creates thousands of errors and adverse events. In “The Little Black Bag,” author Cyril Kornbluth signifies how medical advancement can save and kill simultaneously. Advancement of medical technologies reaches out to help those who are in need; however, the misuse of these innovations can create disharmony along the way.
As the story begins, the unnamed doctor is introduced as one who appears to be strictly professional. “Aas often, in such cases, they weren’t telling me more than they had to, it was up to me to tell them; that’s why they were spending three dollars on me.” (par. 3) The doctor leaves the first impression that he is one that keeps his attention about the job and nothing out of the ordinary besides stating his impressions on the mother, father and the patient, Mathilda. Though he does manage to note that Mathilda has a fever. The doctor takes what he considers a “trial shot” and “point of departure” by inquiring what he suspects is a sore throat (par. 6). This point in the story, nothing remains out of the ordinary or questionable about the doctor’s methods, until the story further develops.
“Let go over a cliff, die completely, and then come back to life–after that you cannot be deceived” (Zen Proverb). The presented situation in this Zen Proverb appears impossible, yet, as Sonali Deraniyagala learned, it is entirely achievable. In December of 2004, Deraniyagala lost her entire family, her parents, husband, and children, to a monstrous tsunami in Sri Lanka. It turned her life upside down and struck a near lethal blow to her spirit; the foundation upon which she created her joys had been washed away. For the years following the catastrophe, she went through a heart-wrenching recovery, first beginning with the incessant repression of all memories involving her family.
Like many medical dramas, Vincent Lam’s collection of short stories in Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures allows the reader to explore the extraordinary world of the medical profession. In the short story “How to Get into Medical School, Part One” Lam explores some of the more intimate aspects of a medical student’s life through the portrayal of Ming and Fitzgerald, two characters with similar aspirations, although immensely diverse mindsets. After completing their Molecular Biology Final, Ming and Fitzgerald proceed to have lunch together at the Thai-Laotian Café, a very public location. Throughout “How to Get into Medical School, Part One” it is revealed to the reader that although Ming and Fitzgerald both share similar aspirations in pursuing a career as a doctor, their mindsets regarding more intimate issue differ greatly, and this is revealed through Ming’s constant reiteration that she will not allow any personal feelings to get in the way of her medical education. This idea