received. Following protocols and polices within the hospital will help medical professionals to avoid common errors that may harm patients such as in the case with Arturo. Just as simply as following the guidelines of simple handwashing before and after a procedure can greatly reduce the risk of a patient getting an infection. Postoperative infections alone have led to more than 32,000 deaths in hospitals in the United States and a loss of over 9 billion (Fremgen, 2016). Consent forms are another way to help medical professionals and organizations to avoid the risk of liability if something goes wrong. “Informed (or expressed) consent means that the patient agrees to the proposed course of treatment after having been told about the possible consequences of having or not having certain procedures and treatments” (Fremgen, 2016, p. 120). By obtaining this informed consent, it gives the patient a chance to ask any needed questions and allows the physician to help reduce the potential for liability to fall on them as they explain the risks and treatment options (Fremgen, 2016). Dr. Ricketson failed to explain to the family member that screwdriver rods had been placed in his spine instead of the titanium rods. Nor did he explain the risks of the rods being placed into the patient’s spine, nor was an informed consent obtained. The standard of care is defined as the “ordinary skill and care that all medical practitioners such as physicians, nurses, physician assistants, medical assistants, and

MEDICAL MISTAKES AND MALPRACTICE 5 phlebotomists must use, as determined by their state license or certification and that a ‘reasonable’ person would use in a similar circumstance” (Fremgen, 2016, p 61). Any reasonable doctor would not have gone through with the surgery after being told in the beginning that there was not an inventory done on the kit. Certainly, no reasonable doctor would have put a screwdriver shaft in a person’s spine that was not approved for human use. Dr. Ricketson did both actions without consent of Arturo Iturralde. These series of events obviously show that the care provided to Arturo Iturralde was breached and well below the standard of care. It is said that education, employment and other socio-economic factors have been substantially implicated in racial, ethnic, health and social care disparities (Johnstone & Kanitsaki, 2007). Based on peoples’ culture, ethnic background and race people are being treated differently in the health care field. Cultural racism seems to greatly affect health care delivery