What matters in acute care? Values and decision making in the acute medical unit.
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Authors
Martin, Luke
Issue Date
2022
Type
Article
Language
en
Keywords
Alternative Title
Abstract
An acute medical unit (AMU) requires a broad range of decisions to be made under time pressure, where consensus is not always easily attainable. In such circumstances, having a clear and workable framework of values is of heightened importance in order to judge what course of action is best. Within the NHS, a multi-value framework and a single-value framework have both been proposed in the last 10 years. However, it remains unclear what values currently guide the work of an AMU. Data from a 16-month ward-based ethnography in an AMU in the north of England, supported by 27 semi-structured interviews, were analysed thematically in order to characterise a framework of values in decision making. Within an AMU, people figure out what is best according to three values simultaneously: welfare, choice and effectiveness. These values operate as an irreducible triad, with implications for holism and realism in healthcare.
Description
Citation
Martin, L.P.J. (2022) What matters in acute care? Values and decision making in the acute medical unit. Future Healthcare Journal; 9 (3) : 243-247.
Publisher
License
Journal
Future Healthcare Journal
Volume
Issue
PubMed ID
ISSN
2514-6653