Medical Technology and the Drama Within
The reading “Medical Technology and Ethical Issues” by William E. Thompson and Joseph V Hickey brings to light an ongoing controversy, and ethical dilemma with medical technological advancement. The authors started this article with a dramatic entrance of an ambulance skidding to a halt in front of the emergency room. The sense of urgency continues with staff persons entering data into a machine for patient medical decisions. This is where it got my attention. Mostly because of personal experience with close family members and myself. I actually had to stop and go back to start the reading over, due to losing focus after numerous past memories flashed through my head. Once I continued, the RIP …show more content…
I wonder if all these factors really paid any behind the scenes direction with my children? my close relatives? All of whom have had life threatening surgeries and medical treatment. My oldest daughter was born in a military hospital in Okinawa, Japan, while I was in my 3rd and last combat tour in Iraq as a Marine. She was born with imperforate anus, and a chromosome issue. She’s fine now, but upon birth, she was medevacd to Hawaii along with her mother for immediate corrective surgery. Technology definitely played a role in saving her life as she was sent to a place with more capabilities. I’m curious to know what the RIP system would have calculated then? I doubt it was even utilized and if it was, I never knew it. She also needed another life changing surgery while I was in Afghanistan, but our surgeon was willing to wait 3 months for me to get home. There were cautions that if symptoms arose, then it couldn’t wait. I knew and trusted her surgeon well, she also educated us on her use of technologies that she utilized in making decisions about Emma’s treatment and plan for life. I was and still am very pro advancement in technology in medicine; however a computer making and influencing doctors in making survival decisions is where it is a social and personal
The reading “Medical Technology and Ethical Issues” by William E. Thompson and Joseph V Hickey brings to light an ongoing controversy, and ethical dilemma with medical technological advancement. The authors started this article with a dramatic entrance of an ambulance skidding to a halt in front of the emergency room. The sense of urgency continues with staff persons entering data into a machine for patient medical decisions. This is where it got my attention. Mostly because of personal experience with close family members and myself. I actually had to stop and go back to start the reading over, due to losing focus after numerous past memories flashed through my head. Once I continued, the RIP …show more content…
I wonder if all these factors really paid any behind the scenes direction with my children? my close relatives? All of whom have had life threatening surgeries and medical treatment. My oldest daughter was born in a military hospital in Okinawa, Japan, while I was in my 3rd and last combat tour in Iraq as a Marine. She was born with imperforate anus, and a chromosome issue. She’s fine now, but upon birth, she was medevacd to Hawaii along with her mother for immediate corrective surgery. Technology definitely played a role in saving her life as she was sent to a place with more capabilities. I’m curious to know what the RIP system would have calculated then? I doubt it was even utilized and if it was, I never knew it. She also needed another life changing surgery while I was in Afghanistan, but our surgeon was willing to wait 3 months for me to get home. There were cautions that if symptoms arose, then it couldn’t wait. I knew and trusted her surgeon well, she also educated us on her use of technologies that she utilized in making decisions about Emma’s treatment and plan for life. I was and still am very pro advancement in technology in medicine; however a computer making and influencing doctors in making survival decisions is where it is a social and personal