Ethics Blog 7

Doctor’s Roles, what Beneficence Means – Grey’s Anatomy Case

Doctors have many roles they must fill in order to help their patients and the patients’ families to the best of their ability. Not only do they need to offer solutions to problems when emergencies and illnesses occur, but they also need to provide compassion and sympathy in times when nothing else can be done to help the patient. It is important for doctors to give accurate information, but they must be careful in its delivery. Not saying they should give false hope, but they need to be aware that sometimes families or patients are not ready to face and accept all the facts that the truth entails.

I never realized all of the all ‘internal’ roles a doctor must play until last night as I watched Grey’s Anatomy. The show told the case of two young sisters who had gotten into a car accident and were bickering nonstop from the moment they entered the ER. They appeared to be fine with the exception of a few minor cuts and bruises; however, doctors later suspected the oldest of having a brain injury after her eyes began to dilate and she began to show signs of swelling. Following an emergency surgery to reduce the brain swelling/matter, she was promounced brain dead. Shortly after her family went into the room to see her, the advising doctor came in and started rattling in a tangent-like and scientific manner of why the girl was brain dead, and that there was absolutely no hope she would ever wake up, hear, or think again. Despite this traumatic period for the family, the doctor pushed the fact that the only thing the girl was now useful for was to provide her young organs, and went on to quickly request permission to allow harvesting of them as soon as possible since time was limited. Obviously, the situation was upsetting enough for the family to learn that the sixteen-year-old girl was brain dead, let alone hear that the only thing she would ever be useful for was organ donations. To have a doctor stand in the room and go off on everything that the definition of brain dead instills was completely unnecessary. It lacked compassion for the family and caused them more stress than what the current situation had already dealt them.

Doctors, by definition, are supposed to help patients and provide life saving care. A patient who is ‘lost’ (or dies) is often seen as a failure to the doctor and the staff. However, this does not mean a doctor can simple ignore the feelings of the family and skip directly to requesting permission to harvest organs. Beneficence, by definition, means to demonstrate kindness, show compassion, and help others. This requires “one to do good,” which requires knowledge in beliefs, culture, values, and preferences.

In the Healthcare Ethics and Law book, an example of beneficence can be seen through a doctor’s statement, “I am not aware of any new treatments for your illness; however, I have some ideas about how I can help treat your symptoms and make you more comfortable. In addition, I will keep you informed as to any significant research that may be helpful in treating your disease process.” Although this example could not be used in the first case since the patient was brain dead, it is important to note the method used in the latter case: the doctor told the patient that he/she was unaware of any new treatments available to help the patient’s illness, but he would do all in his power to help the patient get through it with his continued assistance. This method should have used by the doctor in the Grey’s Anatomy case mentioned earlier, except that it would have be directed towards the parents since the girl was a minor and unconcious at the time.

This is one of the many reasons I think it is so important for doctors to be well-rounded individuals. They need to know how to communicate with their patients and their families in the most appropriate manner possible to get through hard times without causing unnecessary stress. Doctors are supposed to help people, whether it is the patient or his/her family, in whatever situation it may be. Everyone wants to feel like the doctor cares about them; but, if beneficence is not upheld, it can make tough situations that much harder to deal with and accept.