Reference no: EM133190615

Assignment:

There is a danger of tragedy and/or law suits in this case. What would you have done?

Nonmaleficence and Beneficence

There is a very old joke told about a patient who asks a doctor before a procedure: "Will I be able to play the piano after this?"It rather spoils the joke if the doctor asks: "Can you play the piano now?"

I realize that all of you in this class have had some training in health care, or have studied health care systems, or have watched health care professionals practice their care.So, you won't be surprised at the dictum - First do no harm. Now, in this chapter is the additional admonition - do so with compassion.

We want to be treated with compassion when we need health care and so does everyone else.We want to know what the procedure entails; what is the recovery time?How long will I be off work?Will there be much pain involved?How much will this cost?These issues and many more are what may be covered in the reasonable patient disclosure.

Most of us would personally like to have more information as the serious nature of the procedure increases.Think about this for yourself.What would you want to know?

The items which the health care professional needs to be fully aware of are:

• Who is my patient?
• How will this affect their life or their lifestyle?
• What family or responsibility issues are involved?
• Are their any residual consequences of this procedure?