Ethics on the Operating Table

I switched the patient charts. Not by accident. The attending told me to do it because

the VIP donor in room 302 needed a kidney and the uninsured guy in 405 was a perfect

match. I stood there holding both files, my hands shaking, knowing what this

meant. The donor brings in millions for our hospital. The other guy,

he's nobody to them. Just another case number. My attending looked me dead in the eye

and said this is how medicine really works. I did it. I switched them.

Walked down that hallway, made the swap, and now the wrong person is prepped

for surgery in two hours. The uninsured patient has no idea his kidney is about