Patients are referred for an x-ray, by practitioners, if the benefit the information of a diagnostic image provides on the patient’s condition outweighs the risk of a dose of ionising radiation (IR(ME)R 2000); however this does not always mean patients are happy to have the procedure conducted. Verbally communicating with the patient after relaying the purpose of the procedure and any potential risks to obtain their consent respects their decision thereby presenting a patient centered approach (HCPC 2012). In a case that was observed by the student in the x-ray department of a local hospital, a patient who had been previously diagnosed with dementia, exhibited a struggle, refusing to have her wristband checked and her identification confirmed.
Career as an Xray Technician could be an awarding job. An xray technician is in the medical field in which you can work at hospitals, doctor offices, medical and diagnostic laboratories, diagnostic imaging centers and outpatient care centers. The most common name for xray technicians are none as radiologic technicians. As an xray technician you can also have specialties in fluoroscopy, computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, and mammography.
Communication in the field of sonography is super important. When you first encounter the patient it sets the tone for how the appointment is going to go. In healthcare, it is essential for patients to communicate the reason for a visit and their level of distress and discomfort as well as their concerns to healthcare professionals. Conversely, patients rely on healthcare professionals to communicate instructions, information and advice. Within healthcare in particular, each and every word or gesture appears to have significance, emphasising the importance of communication in healthcare (Communication in the delivery of an ultrasound service, 2017).
The process of consent should apply not only to surgical procedures but all clinical procedures and examinations which involve any form of touching. This must not mean more forms: it means more communication. As part of the process of obtaining consent, except when they have indicated otherwise, patients should be given sufficient information about what is to take place, the risks, uncertainties, and possible negative consequences of the proposed treatment, about any alternatives and about the likely outcome, to enable them to make a choice about how to proceed.”5
The ethical conflict presented at Paradise Hills Medical Center (PHPM) was about truth telling. The factors that contributed to the ethical conflict were: (i) patients were labeled as “terminal”, so the physicians felt it was going to be counterproductive to patients’ health to know about the medical error. (ii) Physicians were more worried about the consequences that the oncology program would have than the right of the patient to know about the possible implications of radiation overdosing.
In this assignment I will be exploring the issues around communication and assessment in relation to the care given to the patient. I will look at how care was delivered and how successful it was. The NMC (2008) states that healthcare professionals must respect a person’s right to confidentiality; to ensure this I will be using pseudonyms for the service users mentioned in this assignment. I will be referring to the patient as ‘John’ and his wife as ‘Brenda’. I have gained consent from Brenda to talk about her husband’s situation in this assignment, as he did not have capacity to grant consent himself due to dementia.
Sule stated that, “The Patient Bill of Right adopted by American Hospitals Association states that ‘a patient possesses the right to be informed of the medical consequences of his or her actions and decisions and refuse treatment to the extent permitted by the law’. However, this is true only if the patient is in position to understand the consequences of his treatment. Incompetent, senile patients neither have the correct judgment regarding which treatment is appropriate for them, nor are they in a state of understanding the implications of their treatment. In such case, their willingness to grant or deny consent cannot dictate the course of treatment.” Problem with the Act is being able to find that the patient component enough to make such a call. Another issue that Sule stated was on confidentiality and autonomy. According to Sule, “This is another ethical issue erupting from the conflict of patient's rights and professional ethics in nursing job and profession. The Patient Bill of Right makes it mandatory for the medical practitioners to reveal the form and extent of the ailment along with the course of treatment to be undertaken by the practitioners. However, this law of autonomy clashes with the nursing ethic that the professional should maintain high degree of confidentiality regarding the patient's health and treatment.” This can cause conflicting issues in the NP’s
Another issue with the implementation of Informed consent arises when the patient waives the right to Informed consent and leaves the right to make the decision on the physician. Though legally correct, this can cause psychological stress for the physician especially when the decision is about a life threatening medical condition. Moreover, this also makes the patient vulnerable to abuse. (Manthous, DeGirolamo, 2003)
Patient informed consent refers to the situation where the patient is fully informed on the consequences of their health care decision after which the patient gives the decision. For there to be informed consent, there are five elements that must be discussed. The first is the nature of the patient's decision then the applicable alternatives to the proposed intervention. Third are the risks, benefits and uncertainties associated with each of the alternatives. Fourth is the assessment of the patient's understanding and last is the acceptance of the intervention or an alternative by the patient. Before the patient's consent is considered to be valid, the patient's competency to make the decision must be addressed. The criteria for evaluating the patient's competency is clearly stated in section 3 of the 2005 Mental Capacity Act which states that provided the person is able to understand, retain and use information provided and to communicate their decision in any way such as talking or sign language, they are competent to make a decision. If a patient is treated against their refusal to consent, it amounts to the tort of battery or can also be considered the crime of assault. In addition to this, laws that touch on human rights reinforce the importance of the protection of the physical integrity of the individual in terms of their right to respect of their private life. Therefore, refusal of medical treatment is a human right.
Obtaining an informed consent is a vital part of current health care. This document lists out several key pieces of information for both the patient, Provider, and the ancillary staff that also access the document during the procedure process. However, obtaining informed consent has not always been the practice norm and in research, informed consent carries different specifications.
When a patient needs to have a medical procedure performed, they must first consent to the procedure. Before accepting or rejecting the treatment, the practitioner is required to give the patient information pertaining to the risks and benefits of the procedure, as well as available alternatives. Additionally, the patient must be mentally competent enough to make an informed decision, and not be manipulated or coerced into a decision.
Informed Consent allows a doctor to render treatment to a patient. By signing the document states that the patient understands the circumstances and what is required. This paper is to analyze the consent and non-consent, and ethical issues that can become a problem.
“Nearly half of all American adults – 90 million people – have difficulty understanding and acting upon health information” (Institute of Medicine 2004). Communication is the number one tool in the health care system. Without communication patients will not receive the best care possible and their health will decline. When listening to the World’s Apart videos, I first noticed that each story had their own problem. When it came to Robert Phillips story, I felt like he was the most educated of them all. He was very informative of his disease and he understood what needed to be done for him to get better. However, he felt that due to him being a minority, he wasn’t receiving the best treatment possible. Furthermore, when it came to Mohammad’s
This report aims to discuss the communication observed between the Nurse and Patient portrayed in the video. There are two scenarios in which the Nurse addresses the patient’s concerns. The patient’s response is influenced by the Nurse’s approach. In a health care setting, a personal, empathic yet professional approach is most effective in communication from Nurse to Patient. Furthermore this report assesses the therapeutic techniques used by the Nurse to effectively interact with the patient.
Consent can be quite tricky, a legal minefield for healthcare teams, this is due to the patients who will give or refuse to give private information about themselves who is legally competent but
I enjoyed reading your discussion post regarding the research related to weaning patients off of mechanical ventilation. The article is useful in addressing the need for standards of care on intensive care units and the process of weaning, taking patients off mechanical ventilators. Lastly, your concluding paragraph encouraging communication between patients, families, and patient representatives is an important ethical and policy principle in nursing practice. I thought this was a great choice of topic as we have learned a lot about potential liability and the expanding roles of nurses caring for the critical ill in ICU units.