Throughout history, healthcare workers have placed themselves in danger as they care for their patients, whether it be the medic on the battlefield, the research scientist searching for a cure for the highly contagious disease, or the emergency department nurse in New Orleans who remains on duty during Hurricane Katrina, knowing that the hospital will be receiving mass casualties and not knowing the fate of her own home, family, or even herself if she does not evacuate the area soon. While healthcare workers have always placed themselves at the forefront of dangerous situations and placing the well-being of their patients before their own well-being (Grimaldi, M. E., 2007). The healthcare workers are bound by the professional ethics to ensure that their patients are safe irrespective of the prevailing condition. Therefore, in this case there was an ethical dilemma whether they should go back to the smoky and risky rooms to save their patient who had been trapped to the danger or save themselves first from the building.
In this case, the doctor and the RN had the obligation to ensure that their patients were rescued as much as they could. My position in this case would be as RN Margaret. I will go back, offer help and safe as many patients as I can. My action is based on the deontology theory, for example, if a person hijacked a train full of students and stated that one person would have to die in order for the rest to live, the person who volunteers to die is exceeding his or her duty to the other students and performs an act of supererogation (Rainbow, 2002). In this regard, the RN and the doctor had to chose the actions to take to ensure that the patient with them on the roof find their way out safely and those trapped in the smoking rooms were also helped out before succumbing to the smoke. I would try to help and safe as many lives to avoid further harm, even putting my life at risk.
To solve this dilemma, they would come up with ways to call for help from the roof top for those already safe. This could be done by signaling those on the site offering rescue services or seek for the telephone services in the rooms that the fire has not spread to seek for help from the rescuers. In addition, they should use some of the rescuer’s garments while going to the risky areas for their own safety. In addition, they should seek the help of the professions in the rescue team to rescue those who may be trapped in the rooms.
Given my stance as explained earlier on in this text, I would prefer that Peter and