Informed Consent & Ethical Issues Surrounding Death

Peer Responses: Students are required to respond to at least two (2) other student’s initial postings with significant comments that have substance. Students should collaborate with fellow learners, relating the discussion to course concepts, add several innovative ideas, and provide considerable additional insight that relates to core concepts. Peer responses should include at least two (2) of the following components: Offering advice; posing a question; providing an alternative point-of-view; and acknowledging similar experiences. Peer responses should be supported by at least one reference. 2 students post attached

Good Evening Everyone,

For this week’s forum, I have chosen to answer the first question: “From Chapter 9, Darr (2011, p. 216) writes, “consent must be voluntary, competent, and informed.”  Explain each and why is it important.”

The definition of consent is “compliance in or approval of what is done or proposed by another.” (Consent). In other words, consent is to give permission for another to do something. Consent is important because without consent someone is not willing to do what you want them to do. Ethically and legally, a doctor can not do any medical procedure without consent from the patient.

That brings on competency. To be competent means “having requisite or adequate ability or qualities.” (Competent). In other words, in order to give consent one must be in the right state of mind. They must be able to fully and consciously make educated decisions before they are able to give consent legally.

To be informed means “having or prepared with information or knowledge; apprised.” (Informed). In other words, the patient must be informed fo their situation entirely before they are able to consent. Without all of the necessary information, a patient can not legally give their consent.

Each of these qualities are important because each one is needed in order for a doctor to do anything to their patient. If even one quality is missing, the doctor can not legally treat their conscious patient. Informed, consent in a competent state is what is needed from each patient before any medical procedures.

Patrick

Resources:

Merriam-Webster. Consent. Merriam-Webster. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/consent.

Merriam-Webster. Competent. Merriam-Webster. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/competent.

Dictionary.com. Informed. Dictionary.com. https://www.dictionary.com/browse/informed.

Consent in the medical industry was developed and is more commonly used in todays age due to the increasingly want of patients to be more involved in medical decision making. Consent was established to protect patients from nonconsensual touching when receiving medical services. According to ethics consent reflects a trustworthy and confident relationship between physicians and patients. In law, failure to obtain consent will be persecuted with legal action for battery. Firstly, “legally consent must be voluntary, competent, and informed” (Darr, 2011).  Noninvasive medical procedures only require general consent however, invasive procedures such as surgery require inform consent. Voluntary consent means that when the consent is given it must not be tied to duress. For example, patients who are threatened with force to give consent present duress tied to their consent. Additionally, patients with diminished autonomy cannot give voluntary consent. Competent consent refers to the patient having the capacity to understand the cause and consequences of receiving/not receiving treatment. Under the law minor children, persons with mental illness, persons with cognitive disabilities are not considered competent to give consent. To be informed prior to giving consent is defined by the law as, “providing full disclosure of the nature of the patient’s condition and treatment proposed, available alternatives, and consequences and difficulties that may likely result from treatment or nontreatment” (Darr, 2011). It is important for the patient to exercise voluntary consent because they oversee their own bodies and health and therefor, they should not be forced to decide based on a threat of force. Competent consent is perhaps the most important of the three types of consent. Mentally ill patients and those with cognitive disabilities are not able to give proper consent because they cannot fully grasp the situation, it is because of this that legal guardians are assigned. The law also protects children who are minors because they too have a difficult time grasping the situation and therefore, they are also assigned a legal guardian if they do not have a parent. Patients must not give consent if it is not informed. Some doctors to this day still overcharge or recommend procedures for patients that do not need them. Patients must be afforded with the opportunity of choosing what best fits their lifestyle and health, they must receive full disclosure of all available procedures to them.

Darr, K. (2011). Ethics in Health Services Management. (5th Edition). Baltimore, MD: Health Professions Press, Inc.

Scherer, D. G., & Reppucci, N. D. (1988). Adolescents’ capacities to provide voluntary informed consent. Law and Human Behavior, 12(2), 123-141.