Question

Ethical Dilemma 4.2 Assume that you are a receptionist in a hospital emergency room older homeless male who is dirty, with cutoff jeans, sandals, and a t-shirt with holes in waiting area and an it, comes up to your desk. He has a dirty bloody rag wrapped around his hand and complains that he has cut himself with a hand him a clipboard with paperwork, and tell him to have a seat and complete the forms. At the same time that the indigent patient arrived, a well-dressed older woman wearing a suit arrives with a small crying girl and states that the child fell out of a tree and hurt her shoulder. You greet her warmly with a smile and proceed to engage her in conversation and assist attentively. Meanwhile the injured homeless patient waits to have a question answered about his paperwork. rusty can lid. You greet him without a smile, 1. How do you think you would feel if you were the homeless patient? Why? 2. Why do you think you might have used different standards of service for the two patients? why not? 3. Do you think this approach to service is appropriate? Why or 4. What could you have done differently/better to improve the service delivery in this situation? 5. How do you think other waiting patients might react to the difference in service that you provided? 6. What is the likely impact of the service delivery outlined in this situation?

Answer 1

1.

If I was the homeless patient, I would feel neglected and ignored in spite of being in the need for medical attention. This is because as I arrived at the counter first, I expect the nurse to assist me first. However, instead of paying attentions in order she seems to be paying attention to people who are well dressed.

2.

I think the reason as a receptionist I may have used different service standard because of my biased way of viewing the patients. The homeless patient has been deprioritized due to his/her social standing while the well-dressed woman is paid more attention because of the perception of higher social standing of the women.

3.

I do not think this approach to service is appropriate. As a part of healthcare service organization, (or for any other role in any other industry) we should be professional and just in dealing with our customers/patients. This means we should follow a certain standard in providing service. We should not judge and categorize people based on their appearance.

4.

In this situation, the best course of action will be to be fair in terms treating the patients who comes to the reception. This means either follow an approach of first-come-first-serve logic or prioritize patients based on the severity of their condition. Prioritizing them on the basis of their dress code however is not an acceptable approach.

5.

It will depend on the personality of the patients. An introverted patient may not react to such preferential treatment to other patients. However, they will be unhappy with the service nonetheless. On the other hand, an extroverted patient will likely vocal about their disappointment and may create an uncomfortable situation.

6.

The likely impact of the service delivery in this situation is an extremely polarized view of the service. There will be a few patients who will be extremely happy with the service provided. On the other hand, there will be others who will be extremely unhappy with the service provided.