Handling critical incidents as organizational–ethical challenges using the example of “medical errors”

Abstract

Definition of the problem: Employees in the healthcare sector are expected to deal professionally with patients and their families at all times. Accompanying them through existential crises, disease, dying, and death is highly demanding. A situation which employees can experience as particularly stressful is when a decision needs to be made and they find themselves in a moral conflict or dilemma. Arguments: Such situations range from extremely rare triage decisions to comparably “everyday” involvement in (alleged) medical error. Conclusion: In some cases the outcome for patients and their families, who had placed their trust in the institution, can be tragic, and this already burdensome situation for employees is further exacerbated when there is no credible concept established within the organization for dealing with such events in a structured manner, and when colleagues and their superiors have little to no knowledge about helpful support options.