Bioethics Film Review

Wit
Directed by Mike Nichols
The movie started off with the doctor breaking the news to Vivian
Bearing, an English professor, that she has terminal cancer. There is no
better way to say these words, but in an empathetic way. This is where
provision of information about the disease, the treatment options, the
prognosis and all other relevant information should take place. The
doctor did explain that Vivian had an insidious type of stage 4 ovarian
cancer, and suggested an aggressive experimental chemotherapy to
treat her for 8 months on full dose. There are several ethical issues
presented here. First is that the doctor suggested only one option for
her treatment, and left out all other information regarding the
experimental drug, as to its mechanism of action, side effects, etc. The
second is, she will be given a full dose of the drugs on her first trial.
The third is, the doctor didnt give Vivian enough time to ponder or
contemplate about the process that she will undergo. After signing the
informed consent, Vivian has become a part of a medical research. And
so during the course of the treatment, Vivian led to thinking that she
shouldve ask more questions before agreeing.
As the process of treatment continues, a series of tests were also
made. One instance is when Vivian was needed to have a pelvic exam,
wherein the one to perform the test is a male fellow doctor who,
actually, was once her student. The doctor was feeling nervous and
uneasy. He did the right thing, wherein he requested a female nurse to
assist her in the pelvic exam, but he also made Vivian uncomfortable
by not telling her what to expect, and what he will do, and how he will
do the procedure. The doctor didnt even make his appropriate
conclusion to the patient, and just stormed out of the room. The
doctor, lacked respect for the patients well-being and dignity.

As the cancer of Vivian progresses, and the side effects of the

chemotherapy became excruciating, Vivian relied more on her nurse,
Suzie. Nurse Suzie practiced being a client advocate, wherein she
rooted for Vivians best interests. The nurse insisted the doctors to
lessen the dose of the chemotherapy due to the agonizing side effects,
but was just shoved off. The nurse later on suggested a patientcontrolled analgesia for Vivians severe pains, so she could just press
the button and give comfort to herself whenever is experiencing the
pain. This mechanism could have helped her and given her immediate
relief. The nurse was going for the advocacy of quality of life. But sad
to say, the attending physician still refused the suggestion and just
ordered the nurse to give her a dose of morphine instead.
There was also an instance wherein the nurse asked Vivian what
she wanted in case her heart stopped. The nurse gave Vivian 2
choices, and Vivian opted for the Do Not Rescucitate. When the time
of the passing of Vivian came, the doctor who was so concerned about
Vivian being his research, called the team for Code Blue and even tried
to rescucitate her himself. Nurse Suzie fought and stood by Vivians
wish that she is not to be resuscitated. Nurse Suzie had the respect for
Vivians rights and let her die in peace and with her dignity intact.
This movie showed a lot of ethical issues that are truly
happening. This is for the awareness of everyone, to know his or her
rights not only as a patient, a nurse or a doctor, but also as human
person. The hospital should have its own ethics committee to discuss
these issues before proceeding to any drastic measure to treat a
patient, and not just for the sake of a research. Patients are human
beings who need to be treated with respect, with whatever decision
they make. Health professionals should be there to inform the patient
about the procedures, and not insist to them what should be done or
not. They need to weigh all options and let the patient decide. The
patient has the right to accept or refuse a treatment option, base on

the information given to her regarding the advantages and

disadvantages of it.
As I reflect on what Ive seen in this movie, I can say that, being
a medical doctor is not all about the knowledge of every disease, the
pharmacotherapeutics of a drug, the normal laboratory values, and the
like. Being a medical doctor should be bigger than that. A medical
doctor should have the values of a father, a mother, a child, or a friend,
just like any other patient to someone. This means that in order to truly
understand a patients situation, you should be able to put yourself in
youre their shoes. This way, once you truly understand what the
patients are going through, youll be able to bring out in yourself the
main reason you became a doctor. And this is to save lives, not merely
preventing their hearts from stopping, but letting them acquire the
quality of life they need and deserve.
This movie has inspired me to become better, not only in my
studies, but also on how I communicate and interact with people.
These will be my foundations to treat my future patients, and as to how
I want to be treated by my doctors, most especially with respect,
empathy and justness.