Iranian Journal of Medical Ethics and History of Medicine

Medical ethics is an old science. Some of its issues have historical precedence, and others are modern challenges, and have emerged with advances in technology. One of such historic but newly emerging challenges is "bi’natijeghi-e-pezeshki (futile treatment)", which is defined as the treatment that cannot achieve its goal. This term entered medical literature as "medical futility" in late 1980s. Based on this investigation, it can be concluded that this term should only be used when the desired outcome following medical procedure and the outcome sought by the medical team and patient/family (patient's health) is unlikely to be realized. There are various equivalents for this term in our country (Islamic Republic of Iran), including "bi’fayedegi-e-pezeshki (medical uselessness)", "bi’houdeghi (frivolity) in medicine", and even "inappropriate treatment". The present article aimed to find a suitable Persian equivalent for this concept. The use of interpretations such as "frivolity" or "uselessness" may cause misunderstanding between patient/family and the medical team, and can ruin the trust between patient/family and the medical team. Thus, the best alternative to this English term appears to be "bi’natijeghi-e-pezeshki (futile treatment)".

A study on the adaptability of the patient's admission process with ethical standards has a significant role in reducing the misconduct of the medical staff and increasing the satisfaction of patients. Hence, by the study of the patient's admission process in the Neurosurgery ICU and the identification of its personnel faults; we are going to provide a platform for excellent service to patients. This study is a qualitative study. It had done with the In-depth interviewing with 28 staff of the Neurosurgery ICU of Loghman Hospital during the winter of 1396 (December2017- March 2018). The data is collected and analyzed with triple coding: open, selective, and axial. "The lack of ethical sensitivity to nursing profession and its importance" is a general tag for seven categories of functional status of ICU staff: the use of staff with insufficient professional competence, the impact of staff tastes in professional relationships, irrational expectations, lack of communication skills, the inability to admission new patients and work in other health centers. Accordingly, "the lack of moral sensitivity to the profession and its importance" in the ICU staff is a central phenomenon that results from neglect of the importance of developing transparent processes for various activities in the ICU, as well as the lack of professional training. This will make the ICU staff ignore the implementation of the defined standards, and subsequently  the decline in the quality of health care services in ICU.