This analysis relies on the idea that the nursing staff can handle the accumulation of verbal violence they're exposed to, and ignores the trauma that they've been under for the last couple of years.
I firmly believe that there needs to be a line drawn between physical violence and words. Physical violence can be immediately life-threatening. Verbal violence is not the same.
On the other hand, if an employer makes their employees work around verbal violence, they also need to provide care for the effects. I'd like to know what efforts the administration of this hospital were making to support their staff through circumstances like this. (I guarantee that this wasn't the only abusive patient they've seen.)
the more serious the likely consequences of refusing care, the larger the burdens they should be willing to accept
I do agree with that. But the question is what should the institution be doing to mitigate the harm of those burdens, and what is the doctor's ethical requirement to advocate for that mitigation?
If the hospital's risk managers have decided that no sufficient mitigation is possible, at what point do they have the duty to protect the staff so that they can continue to practice at all? If all your nursing staff burn out, you're not going to be helping any patients, and no care will be provided to anyone.
no subject
I firmly believe that there needs to be a line drawn between physical violence and words. Physical violence can be immediately life-threatening. Verbal violence is not the same.
On the other hand, if an employer makes their employees work around verbal violence, they also need to provide care for the effects. I'd like to know what efforts the administration of this hospital were making to support their staff through circumstances like this. (I guarantee that this wasn't the only abusive patient they've seen.)
the more serious the likely consequences of refusing care, the larger the burdens they should be willing to accept
I do agree with that. But the question is what should the institution be doing to mitigate the harm of those burdens, and what is the doctor's ethical requirement to advocate for that mitigation?
If the hospital's risk managers have decided that no sufficient mitigation is possible, at what point do they have the duty to protect the staff so that they can continue to practice at all? If all your nursing staff burn out, you're not going to be helping any patients, and no care will be provided to anyone.