Hierarchies and Power Structures in Ethics Committees
The writing assignment this week will focus on the hypothetical “transcript” of a meeting of an ethics committee. The first part of the transcript (Post et al. pp. 301-9) covers concerns about exposure of nursing staff to radioactive iodine in the course of caring for a patient. This is the part of the transcript that you will analyze for your assignment. The discussion about the case is “retrospective” in that the case is “over.” You might wonder a bit about why this particular case never went before the ethics committee at the time the nursing and medical staff were deciding what to do.
Specifically, read the transcript with an eye toward discerning authority structures and hierarchies within the ethics committee and the institution as whole. The transcript isn’t a “model” for how ethics committee should run. Rather, this is an opportunity for you to critique how the committee functions. Then individually submit a paper 2 pages in length, double spaced that responds to the following questions:
Discuss the make-up of the committee, including how people are addressed and how they speak to each other. How people are addressed gives you insights into respect and power differentials within a group.
Who within the committee actually makes decisions and how do they do this? The key decision the committee is retrospectively discussing is the one made about the potential harms to the nursing staff. Look to the article by Nembhard & Edmondson (2006) in the assigned readings this week for ideas about power and hierarchies.
Is the plan they developed realistic? Feasible? Were the nurses protected from unnecessary harm?
Whose interests take priority for the ethics committee as they deliberate?
