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Autonomy And Nonmaleficence Case Study

Satisfactory Essays

. How do the ethical principles of autonomy and nonmaleficence apply in this case? A fundamental right for all competent patients is autonomy, or the right of self-determination. Patients are free to make their own judgments of any situation based on their own criteria. Charlie’s mom is definitely playing an important role, she is not letting Charlie make his own judgments. She instead of building his confidence is making him feel terrified with all the words she just said. The principle of nonmaleficence states the obligation of the health care practitioner to do no harm the patient. In order to Lucy perform her task as a dental hygienist, she needs to be able to gain enough trust from Charlie to be able to proceed without causing him any harm. 2. What responsibilities does the dental hygienist have to Charlie and to his mother? Lucy the dental hygienist has the responsibility to provide both Charlie and his mother a very detailed explanation about any procedure that needs to be done and to fully and clearly explain them the consequences of doing or not doing the treatment. This provides the patient and his mother, the necessary information to be able to …show more content…

In this case Charlie’s mom seem to be the one who is feeling very anxious about the appointment, she is the one who is making Charlie not to be confident and making him be as anxious as she is. I strongly believe that we all learn by imitation, and if Charlie’s mom let him enter the operatory by himself, she will be sending the message to Charlie that she trust in Lucy and he will do the same. Once on the operatory I will explain him the procedure, being very specific about sensations and noises. I will also tell him that if he cooperates, he will be rewarded (toy, goody bag). Also a good idea if there is a TV on the operatory, switch to a kids friendly channel and try to make his experience as pleasant as

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