At the Hospital: The Role of the Team by Theresa Brown
Summary
The field of nursing and medicine is one of the fields that require a lot of cooperation, especially, between all the involved parties, in order to effectively carry out the roles at task. In a normal medical setting, for example, it is necessary for effective cooperation to be established between the physician, the nurse and the patient. This ensures that both the physician and the nurses are in a good position to offer effective and quality medical attention, assistance or guidance to the patient. However, this is only achievable in cases where there is effective cooperation between all these involved parties. Theresa Brown, who is an assistant pediatrics professor at Emory University School of Medicine, focuses particularly on the relationship between the physician and the nurses. As much as the physician holds an upper hand in the case and situation based on experience, specialty and professionalism, it is ethically necessary to have respect to the nurses, especially in the presence of the patient(s) or otherwise. This is due to the fact that the nurses are the founding blocks towards effective care for the patients, and this is one of the aspects that have been considerably neglected in some of the hospitals across the United States, as well as other regions across the globe. Teamwork is, therefore, an essential area to look at in this case, and it is one of the factors that Theresa Brown has critically put into consideration and advocated for, in her articulated view (Brown, 2013).
Relevance in the nursing field
Theresa Brown’s observations and research is particularly necessary in the nursing field, not only in the American setting, but also any other medical setting across the globe and this is based on several factors. One of the most essential things to note concerning the medical industry is the fact that there should be maximum cooperation in all the involved parties, in order to achieve great results. This is not only applicable in the medical field, but also any other fields across the production and service industry, and it are the main aspect that Brown has advocated fro in her articulated view.
At the same time, this study is relevant, because it will play a role in developing the relationship between the various stakeholders and persons involved in the nursing field. It is necessary to note the fact that the nurses are necessary in the medical field, just as the medical doctors and physicians are. This is because each of the two parties has a distinctive role to play, and effective carrying out of the medical services will only be achievable when each of the two parties effectively carries out their roles. This brings in the necessity of teamwork, and this is what Brown advocated for in this study.
Essentially, Brown has identified the fact that the medical field has, for a long time, been dominated by a hierarchy, whereby specific parties are seen and regarded as more essential, in comparison to the others. This has been identified to be one of the reasons why there has been poor cooperation between the nurses and the doctors in the medical field. As a result, there has been poor services’ provision to the patients. However, Brown asserts that collaboration in the field and viewing the medical services from a teamwork perspective as opposed to a hierarchal one will go a long way in ensuring that there are effective relationships between all the involved parties, and consequently, quality services (Brown, 2013).
Ethical considerations
This study has put various ethical considerations into perspectives, and this is one of the factors that verified it as a viable research, and one of the aspects that it put into consideration is avoiding biasness. For instance, as much as it plays the role of portraying the challenges that the nursing system has been undergoing in many medical areas across the globe, it has shown the relevance of both the nursing and the physician and doctoral fields. This is necessary, because both parties play a considerably and equally necessary role in the medical field, in the care and treatment of patients, respectively (Kaplan, 2012).
Lastly, the research put equity into perspective, based on a humanistic approach. In this case, for example, Brown advocated for equal and just treatment for the nurses, who for a long time, have been viewed as the inferior party in the medical field. In this case, he advocated for just treatment based on humanity and equity, which is one of the most essential aspects that have been advocated for in the medical and other fields, alike (Kaplan, 2012).
References
Brown, T. (2013). “Healing the Hospital Hierarchy.” The New York Times. Retrieved from http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/03/16/healing-the-hospital-hierarchy/ on May 11th, 2013.
Kaplan, C. (2012). Resource Research Summary and Ethical Considerations Guidelines. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, pp. 99-103.
