Medical Malpractice Lawsuits

Breana Garza Composition Group-C Discourse Community Ethnographic Paper Professor Ozyesilpinar November 15, 2013

Medical Malpractice Lawsuits

Ethnography Discourse Community Having knowledge on Medical malpractice lawsuits and what communities have to undergo this process has a great importance for workers and patients in the hospital. The process of a medical malpractice lawsuit is not always completely understood because each case and lawyer are different, being able to tell you each step that everyone in the world takes would be impossible because even every law firm has different policies according to what type of cases they can handle. Same goes for a hospital, one can focus just on children or just specialize in one field of medicine which would change the type of lawsuit the patient was suing the doctor for. Even though the person suing feels it is the right decision it can always turn out to not be the doctors fault, because there is no answer to what the human body can do in just a matter of seconds. In my research I am trying to clarify what goes on in the hospitals discourse community, how the doctors and other staff members handle daily jobs and how they still manage to get through their day when a patient or patients family are suing them for something they believe was neglect of their family member. Everyday a hospital goes through a possibility of being sued, because every day they have to try and save a patients life. On the day I went to observe I saw what conflicts can occur with this discourse community and watching the doctors and nurses having to react fast to whatever life throws at you in the hospital. Simple mistakes can lead to fatal accidents, such as giving the nurse a wrong chart and having someone elses medical records instead of the correct owner. Also not working together as a unit with one common goal can have a negative effect on the whole hospital, because in this setting having patience and good communication skills is required. When I asked the doctor, What steps does the hospital take when undergoing a lawsuit? He said, Every hospital is different of course, but as for Driscoll Childrens hospital

Medical Malpractice Lawsuits

great precaution is taken in every medical department in making sure each patient is well taken care of. None the less, we try to ensure that every day, but some days are more challenging than others. When he says some days are harder than others it leads me to believe that on those harder days the discourse community is not working together, which in fact causes the hospital to undergo a challenging day. Before I left the hospital, I went down to the first floor and talked to human resources to learn more on the steps the hospital takes when undergoing a medical malpractice lawsuit. At the desk she gave me a list of steps which included, contacting insurance carriers, gather records, certificates of Merit (for plaintiff), searching for past claims, prepare and deposition and lastly do not settle. By following these steps hospitals and medical professional have a fighting chance with the lawsuit. Six Characteristics within the Community The shared goals of this community is to work their very best to not be put into the situation of a medical malpractice lawsuit. When I interviewed the doctor I asked him question that I thought would have answers to fall under the six characteristics and it just so happened to work out that way, here is why. My interview participant is a doctor from Driscoll Childrens hospital who wishes to remain anonymous throughout my paper. I asked him questions about what steps occur for him to take and what steps the hospital is trained to take. My first question was How does the lawsuit not affect him in wanting to purse his job as a doctor? He replied with There are so many negative sides when getting hit with a lawsuit, but overcoming the situation encourages me to want to be better and to continue saving the lives that need to be saved. With this response I feel that it falls under goals, because every doctor is taught to overcome something negative and move on to do something better. There is always another chance at saving a childs life, but if the doctor is still holding on to that mistake it enables him

Six characteristics within the Community

or her to do the job right for the next kid. My second question was, What steps do you take while going through a lawsuit? without hesitation he said First I have to make numerous phone calls to different departments of the hospitals to get all the files together for the attorneys. Next, I have to recall everything that occurred in that surgery or incident. Finally, I have to be sure my case is more likely to win in order to determine if pursing my argument side of the case is worth it. Reading this answer, I feel it falls under mechanisms of intercommunication, because the doctor has to make phone calls to every department that was involved in the incident. Then he has to collect all the files for the patients attorney and his own attorney, and if that was not enough he has to recall every step he took in the procedure or visit. Observation The last three characteristics that I did not include with my interview questions will be answered based on my observations. With genres I feel that the shared goal within the hospital is a shared piece of communication that everyone understands. Usually in a hospital everyone main goal is to put the patients needs first. Everyone in the hospital works together as one unit to ensure a good day for the nurses and doctors. In the medical field that are ton of lexis communication being used. There are a lot of acronyms the doctors use when communicating with the nurses, such as the different types of nurses LVN, RN and if doctors have higher degrees they get the privileged of having more acronyms in front of DR. Also, in a hospital there a numerous people in charge of different departments, the head of the whole hospital is called the director. As far as the different departments, secretary works for the nurse and the nurse works for the doctor who reports the chief of the department. Usually they will earn authority depending on how many years they have worked in that hospital, you just have to prove that your head nurse or head doctor material. For the newcomers it a little more difficult for them to find

where they stand with authority, but I have analyzed what modes of belonging the new nurses use. The first being engagement, they have to learn to create an interpersonal relationship with the nurses that already know what to do in this discourse community. In order for the new nurse to understand the steps and guidelines this hospital follows she has to work well with the rest of the staff, imagination helps the newcomer master this. Imagination is when the new nurse expands her learnings and creates new goals for the new discourse community they have been placed in. Also alignment plays a big role in finding common ground, because like I said before the hospital she have one common goal each day and that is to save a life and if the new nurse jumps on board with that goal there will be success. It can also be when two departments of the hospital need to share paper work because a patient has been to both of those places. With proper alignment there is better organization and makes it easier to fix and or cure the patient. I feel that my discourse community is a very informative topic, there is always something new to learn within a hospital and a law firm because medicine practices and laws are constantly changing especially as technology grows. Understanding medical malpractice lawsuits has been difficult since I cannot ask too many questions to a doctor or lawyer because this topic has to remain confidential, so I had to use what I could get. I was thankful that the doctor was open to answering the questions I did ask, he was very helpful. Observing the hospital gave me an even better understanding of what the nurses have to do for the doctor in order to ensure the patient is receiving the right care. I also got a better understanding on the steps that Driscoll Childrens hospital takes when going through a Medical malpractice lawsuit. This project has helped me to not only learn how to organize an Ethnographic paper, but it helped to open my eyes on what I may go through if I end up becoming a nurse in the future.