Question

You are performing an Ultrasound on a patient who is 20 weeks pregnant, when you notice that there is no heartbeat detected. You try your hardest to not seem concerned, but the patient senses something is wrong, and asks you repeatedly what you see. When you say that you don't read the Ultrasound, the patient says "I know you know what you see, I have had ultrasounds before and they always tell me.” As the technologist, you feel this information should come from HER doctor. Identify the Problem(s) - there could be more than ONE thing to address, explain why it could be a problem:

Answer 1

Problems to be identified in the above case of a 20-week pregnant woman with a no heartbeat fetus on ultrasound are many. She understood that something had been wrong with her ultrasound from the expression of the ultrasound technologist. Weighing in on the medical ethics of the technologist is the fact that he/she is not the person to convey any unpleasant news regarding the fetus. The results, if it is fetal demise or not, should be checked and confirmed by the patient's doctor and further information and treatment/procedures should be delivered by the doctor. Hearing something unpleasant from a familiar person would be better for any patient in such a situation, as it would have only a medium impact on the patient. Sharing the results by the technologist could adversely affect the patient and the fetus if the fetus was in a rescuable condition. Other than this, the doctor is qualified to discuss the results with the patient whereas the ultrasound technologist is only qualified to do the ultrasound.