CRITICAL DECISION MAKING FOR PROVIDERS 1

Critical Decision Making for Providers

Name

Institution

Course

Instructor

Date
CRITICAL DECISION MAKING FOR PROVIDERS 2

Critical Decision Making for Providers

Healthcare providers have a responsibility to their patients and their employers, and in

some cases, conflicts in the two may happen, affecting a provider's decision given the impact

of the outcomes. When faced with a dilemma, healthcare providers experience significant

distress when deciding, especially when varying reasons support the two options. However,

as noted by De Kok et al. (2018), ethical behavior is critical and will always guide a

healthcare provider in making rational decisions when faced with a dilemma relating to

commitment to patients and achieving targets. In exploring the decision-making process for

providers and the factors that drive them to make such decisions and the associated

consequences, a review of Mike's case scenario defines the dilemma and decision options

leading to specific consequences.

Case Description

Every decision made by an individual has an associated impact on the person or

another party to the decision. In the case presented, Mike, a father, and a husband are lab

technicians who have had issues with coming late at work, which the supervisor has noted

and given a warning. Mike is committed to not repeating the mistake. Today, Mike left home

20 minutes before the usual time he leaves, but there was an accident resulting in a delay on

the way to work. However, he arrived in the building at the right time but saw a safety hazard

spill. Stopping to clean up the fall would mean that Mike would be late in clocking, violating

an agreement with the supervisor on lateness. Ignoring the spill will imply that other

employees or patients will be at risk of falling due to the spill.

Options: Report or Ignore the Problem

Presented with the case, Mike has two major decision choices: ignore the problem or

report it. WHO (2018) described that slips and trips are the major causes of falls within
CRITICAL DECISION MAKING FOR PROVIDERS 3

healthcare settings, resulting in significant suffering and loss of human resources during

emergency cases. Understanding key risk factors for such falls is important, and healthcare

providers should work with other staff to address these issues. Mike's decision to report and

stop first to address the issue is guided by this understanding of safety hazards and the need

to prevent suffering and unnecessary resource utilization. While stopping to address the issue

might have resulted in Mie losing his job, the action and decision taken were ethical, well-

received, and appreciated by Mike's supervisor. The adverse outcomes of the spill and the

risk of losing his job were averted when Mike made a call to report the issue.

Mike might have also been compelled to ignore the issue based on the supervisor's

waring due to lateness in previous cases. Mike has a wife and child and is financially striving

to provide for his family, meaning that losing his job is not an option. O'Donovan, De Brún,

and McAuliffe (2021) noted that healthcare providers could engage in avoidance behaviors

such as silence to prevent interpersonal risks. Ignoring the issue would have enabled Mike to

clock in time but would have resulted in significant physical harm to the patient. If such an

event happens in a facility, there is a high chance that healthcare providers would prefer to

address the issue that ignores it as safety has empathized as a fundamental aspect of practice

in the facility. Environmental safety is important in protecting providers' and patients' safety

as it fosters the elimination or avoidance of potential safety hazards, including spills.

Transcultural

Forms of Communication in Patient Education

Effective communication is fundamental in achieving strong patient-provider

relationships, which are the foundation for patient-centered care. In this case, the patient

cannot speak English but has a family member to help in addressing the communication

barrier. Patient education ensures that the patient has adequate discharge information to

enhance medication management and self-care practices. While the family member helps
CRITICAL DECISION MAKING FOR PROVIDERS 4

with interpretation, it is important to use other forms of communication to enrich the

interpretation and calm the patient down. As described by Purnell and Fenkl (2020),

nonverbal communication strategies such as facial expression, tone adjustment, body

language, gestures, and eye movement may enhance a positive communication outcome

when communicating with a person from a person different culture. In providing education

for the patient, the initial thing is to make the patient relax using a slow and even tone which

may help calm the patient. Maintaining calmness and slow speaking is important as the

patient is already anxious and restless due to prolonged discharge. Using translation services

of the family member would be important in meeting the patient's informational needs.

Maintaining an optimistic facial expression, using body movement to demonstrate actions,

and visual material to emphasize ideas would be important for this patient.

Assessing the Understanding of Discharge Information

It is important to ensure that the patient fully understands the discharge information.

However, with communication barriers, this would be challenging. For this patient, asking

questions on specific areas of the discharge information through the interpreter is essential.

As Squires (2018) recommended, observing how the patient responds to the interpreter

through body language is important. Further, an analysis of eth level of relaxation in the

patient would help assess the understanding.

Impact of Staff Member's Actions

The current patient's status needs a sensitive approach to enhance patient outcomes

and experience. When a provider focuses first on establishing a strong patient-provider

relationship, as described by Sibiya (2018) is important in enhancing collaboration and

cooperation, which drives positive patient outcomes. Focusing on patient-centered

communication, avoiding conflict, and being clear and specific to the content improves

outcomes. However, if a provider focuses on providing information without the care of the
CRITICAL DECISION MAKING FOR PROVIDERS 5

patient's feelings, there is a likelihood that the information will not be understood, leading to

non-compliance and poor self-care outcomes.

Ethical Values that do not align with the Education Policy

Complying with ethical policies of patient education is essential in avoiding ethical

issues while promoting ethical behavior in patient care. One ethical issue is that the

professional did not observe the value of accountability, which directs one to do what is right

and take responsibility for actions. Taking responsibility would involve telling the patient that

the accident was due to the provider's inaction. Maintaining truthfulness or veracity is another

value that was not evident and which should have been as it ensures that the patient

understands the problem, the cause, and how to handle the issue.

Conclusion

Healthcare providers have a responsibility to protect and safeguard patients. As

presented in the case of Mike, an organization's policies may inhibit a provider from doing

what is right, but it is the provider's responsibility to determine the best cause of action to

prevent adverse patient outcomes. Reporting the issue was the most ethical course of action

for Mike. Ignoring the issue led to prolonged hospitalization and suffering of a patient.

Transcultural communication strategies including facial expression, body language, and

visual aid are important in meeting the patient's educational needs.

References

De Kok, B. C., Widdicombe, S., Pilnick, A., & Laurier, E. (2018). Doing patient-

centeredness versus achieving public health targets: A critical review of interactional

dilemmas in ART adherence support. Social Science & Medicine, 205, 17-25.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2018.03.030

O'Donovan, R., De Brún, A., & McAuliffe, E. (2021). Healthcare professionals experience

psychological safety, voice, and silence. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 383.

https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.626689

Purnell, L. D., & Fenkl, E. A. (Eds.). (2020). Textbook for transcultural health care: A

population approach: Cultural competence concepts in nursing care. Springer

Nature.

Sibiya, M. N. (2018). Effective communication in nursing. Nursing, 19, 20-34. DOI:

10.5772/intechopen.74995

Squires A. (2018). Strategies for overcoming language barriers in healthcare. Nursing

Management, 49(4), 20–27. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.NUMA.0000531166.24481.15