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Ethical Issues In The Movie Wit

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The movie Wit (Bosanquet & Nichols, 2001) focuses on Dr. Vivian Bearing, an English professor who is diagnosed with an aggressive form of ovarian cancer. It chronicle’s Vivian’s experiences with her health care team up until her death. Throughout the movie her doctors, Doctor Kelekian and his fellows, most notably Jason, make many errors while treating Vivian. They communicate with Vivian in ways that make her feel overwhelmed and uncomfortable, violate ethical principles by ignoring her autonomy and not sharing critical information about her health with her, and failing to addressed her spiritual needs. Vivian’s nurse, Susie, does her best to care for Vivian. She incorporates Swanson’s (1991) “Empirical Development Of a Middle Range Theory of Caring” processes such as knowing and being with, into her care and upholds patient advocacy, but she too makes mistakes that hinder Vivian’s wellbeing. Communication In the beginning of the movie, Doctor Kelekian …show more content…

This is an important issue because by trying multiple techniques to get Vivian’s heart pumping again, such as CPR and electric shock paddles, he violates the ethical principle of autonomy. He refuses to respect what the patient has decided is best for her mind, body, and soul and instead steals her right to that decision away from her. It is clear that this was a deliberate act because Susie exclaims that the order was put in a day before and he even looked at it himself (Bosanquet & Nichols, 2001). He was not lazy and forgot to check her chart, he knew the order was there and made a methodical choice not to abide by it. His motivation to revive her is to keep her alive because she aids his research. This shows that Vivian is being cared for by people who prioritize her disease over her

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"The Patient as Text: Literary Scholarship and Medical Practice in Margret Edson's Wit," by Ann Henley, is a critical essay claiming teachers of literature and medical professionals should asses their efficacy in conveying to students and patients the "simple human truths" that dignify life and death. Henley how both professions use language as inhibitors to avoid meaningful personal communication and to treat their subject of research as nothing more than an object. Henley describes how words are the tools of power, not only for literary scholars but for the medical professionals as well. Kelekian also uses a ton of medical terminology, not to inform Vivian, but to "obfuscate". Which reminds Vivian of how she too uses the language as a teacher

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