Compétence éthique du manipulateur en radiothérapie dans la gestion d’une crise

Abstract

Many situations can be considered as a crisis in radiotherapy (failure of equipment, absenteeism, excessive workload, errors, urgent care, pandemic, etc.). Such events are defined as difficult situations in the course of daily activity, they can at any time escape the vigilance of the concerned actors when they are not prepared for it. The crisis can induce a disruption of balance between the normal course of the radiation therapy and the obligation for the manipulators to reconcile the consequences of the ongoing crisis with the objective of taking charge of all patients scheduled for the program. The crisis and its management will inexorably cause stress, fatigue and, as a consequence, impact patient safety. Management has an essential role to play in maintaining team dynamics when a crisis occurs, the work environment may no longer be the same. The aim of this article is to describe these situations in order to highlight the needs of the teams and more specifically the needs of the radiation therapist. It highlights the organization of patient care in the event of crisis management (Covid-19), during palliative radiotherapy with an opportunity to develop advanced practice. The reflection on the ethical concern of the radiation therapist in the prioritization of patients leads us to analyze the knowledge of medical ethics provided during initial training. When they perform their duties, manipulators seem to be confronted with situations that give rise to ethical dilemmas. It is then a question of understanding how they reflect on their practice in order to make it evolve. Is the radiation therapist confronted with ethical issues in the course of his practice? What solutions can be implemented to deal with these issues?