No Need to Object: Ethical Obligations for Interprofessional Collaboration in Emergency Department Discharge Planning

Abstract

Emergency departments (EDs) serve a wide range of patient needs. A crucial aspect of safe and effective care in the ED is to appropriately transition patients to the next level of care. In most EDs, this disposition planning is done exclusively by physicians, which has the potential to result in unacceptable harm. A virtue ethics approach demonstrates the need for explicit inclusion of nurses in disposition planning. In utilizing this approach, it is necessary to examine four focal virtues as they relate to the work of disposition planning and the moral character of the nurse. The virtues of prudence, trustworthiness, vigilance, and courage show that interprofessional collaboration is needed during disposition planning to promote patient safety, facilitate interprofessional relationships, and prevent moral distress. The majority of literature on disposition planning is empirical in nature; this chapter adds a normative argument and a motive for policy reform.