The Devil's Alternative. Clinical leadership in the management of risk in critical care: responses to a fictional scenario.

There are many clinical situations in which the decisions made in good faith and in the best interests of patients by healthcare staff, can result in a poor outcome whichever choice is decided upon. These issues can cause much anxiety for clinicians, who may increasingly fear professional censure for poor decision making based upon ‘the balance of probabilities’. Examination of challenging theoretical scenarios with a poor outcome will allow discussion of such issues, and may help guide clinicians in the future. One such situation was outlined to a variety of professional bodies, whose responses are shown below. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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