Communication problems are a common conflict in healthcare, and likely lead to clinical ethics consultations, according to Nursing Ethics.
The main purpose of such consultations is to discuss individual moral dilemmas or conflicts in clinical practice, to develop standards for decision-making in ethical situations and to educate and sensitize clinical staff in the ethical aspects of therapeutic decision-making.
Researchers at the University Medical Center Göttingen in Germany observed four ethics case consultations and conducted interviews with 28 clinical ethics committee participants — from various positions in medical ethics, medicine and nursing — to better understand the origin of the conflict, the consultation process and the clinical consequences.
Communication problems and hierarchical team conflicts were the main issues that led to ethics consultation. They often involved unresolvable differences among the medical team, the authors said.
The most successful clinical ethics consultations balance the position of the recorder and take into account the equality of all participants’ gender, they advised.
From the May 1, 2019 Issue of McKnight's Long-Term Care News
