Today was supposed to be a day off but I had signed up for an ethics workshop for the ICU where I work (I am a Trauma ICU RN for those of you that may not know me). Ethics fascinate me...how do we determine what is "right or wrong". In my job I do many things that I think are just but also many things that makes me think something is not right. Sometimes I give the impression that I don't care but I am learning that I often care too much.
The day consisted of a lecture from a philosopher, an ICU physican and a lawyer. All provided slightly different thoughts for dealing with ethics dilemmas. However they all pretty much agreed that not all law is ethical and not ethics does not always follow law. We did a hypothical case study of a 17 year old boy in a serious car accident that would die without a blood transfusion. Ahhh but he is of the Jehovah's witness faith and does not want a transfusion. He is carrying a witnessed card, signed by him that states this, verbally stated that he does not want it and had a parent present that does not want him to have blood. He is beginning to "crash" and will die iminently without blood....what are you going to do???? Are you going to transfuse him or not...make your mind up quick....you have minutes to decide.
So that was the majority of my day. I skipped out early so I could get my ride in before dinner. Talk about great weather...not too hot and the sun is shining!! Hopped on the bike and headed out the 1A. I am getting more and more comfortable on my bike. I love schedule days that have a long ride! Today I did alot of thinking about the ethics day. I can't help but think that there may be a day when I cannot continue in ICU because of the things I have to do that I don't really agree with.
Nothing particularly exciting about todays ride. I came back on road 262 to add some rolling hills into the mix. That felt quite nice...I used to hate hills and now I don't mind them at all. The wind was playing a bit of havoc with me but it's something I need to get used to. The second loop was even more windy !!The ride was supposed to be 2-3 hours...I felt ok with 2.5 and called it a day ;).
As of now I am about 2 1/2 weeks out from my first Tri....starting off with Sprint. I feel like I am ready. Alot of training and hard work has been leading up to this. I am ready to rock it ( and by rock it, I mean give it all I have). I am confident with my running and cycling for this...lets just hope the swim follows suit.
Dan......out!
PS In the Province of Alberta, legally the 17 year old must recieve that life saving transfusion despite his and his parents objection....this is also the case in 2 other Canadian provinces.
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Hi Dano, found your blog from Susi's. If anything, I was bigger than you when I started working out. Stick with it! You won't believe how much better you'll feel as the weight comes off, and you start doing better.
ReplyDeleteEthics is interesting, although I could never participate in serious discussions. I simply don't believe that a religious reason for doing something, or not doing something, is valid. Discussing how to accommodate religious beliefs in the real world is a waste of breath. In your specific case, the kid gets the blood, because saving lives is the right thing to do. Almost all of the time.
If you like hills now, I'll take you down Road to Nepal. You'll love it