Allocation of scarce resources is a rising concern amongst healthcare professionals during a pandemic. This could potentially lead to situations that may cause moral distress for physicians and other helping professions, which the science of compassionate care is uniquely positioned to address. Check out this article by Dr. Aaron Kheriaty, ND '99, a psychiatrist and the director of the Medical Ethics Program at University of California Irvine School of Medicine, as he reflects on the ethics of pandemic triage and the principle of justice.
"Honestly, most of the time we just worry about our patients. We picture the droves of sick people, barely able to breathe, who will arrive any day now at our hospital doors in ever expanding numbers. We wonder how we will explain our decision to an anguished daughter when we have to look her in the eye and say, “We are sorry, your father will not be placed on a ventilator but will be transitioned to comfort care only.” How will we explain this when a month ago he would have received treatment without question, and might have recovered?
None of this makes sense and none of us thought we would ever be in this position. Yet here we are."
https://www.thenewatlantis.com/publications/the-impossible-ethics-of-pandemic-triage
"Honestly, most of the time we just worry about our patients. We picture the droves of sick people, barely able to breathe, who will arrive any day now at our hospital doors in ever expanding numbers. We wonder how we will explain our decision to an anguished daughter when we have to look her in the eye and say, “We are sorry, your father will not be placed on a ventilator but will be transitioned to comfort care only.” How will we explain this when a month ago he would have received treatment without question, and might have recovered?
None of this makes sense and none of us thought we would ever be in this position. Yet here we are."
https://www.thenewatlantis.com/publications/the-impossible-ethics-of-pandemic-triage