Real-Life Decision Making
You're working in the intensive care ward of a hospital. It's
your job to ensure each patient receives the diet that's best for them.
One of the doctors you work with in the intensive care ward doesn't
believe nutrition has much of a role in health care. You haven't had
any luck changing his mind, so you just do your job and stay out of his way
so he'll stay out of yours.
But one of the patients in the intensive care ward is a diabetic. It's
a person whose blood sugar levels are irregular, but can be controlled. You
notice the doctor has been having a lot of trouble stabilizing this patient's
blood sugar levels with insulin injections.
As this patient's dietitian, you've monitored the diet given
to this patient through tube feeding. The diet you're giving the patient
-- prescribed by his doctor -- is standard for a diabetic of his age and weight.
Given the zigzagging blood sugar levels, you feel this patient could benefit
from a change in diet. You doubt the doctor in this ward will agree, however,
and think it may even make your working relationship worse and hinder your
ability to help other patients.
Advising the doctor to change this patient's diet could make a big
difference in stabilizing the blood sugar levels.
Or you could decide to keep quiet and stay out of the doctor's way.
You aren't positive this change in diet will help, and you don't
want to make matters worse between you and the doctor.
What do you do?