Abstract
When a patient loses decisional capacity, the responsibility to make treatment decisions often falls on a family member who becomes the surrogate decisionmaker. This case study provides an example of a situation where the medical team and the surrogate decisionmaker initially disagreed on the best course of action for the patient. The ethicist was called in to lead a guided conversation to help the team and the surrogate decisionmaker reach a consensus. This case illustrates the importance of allowing the surrogate decisionmaker to ask clarifying questions and process their emotions before making a decision.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 237-240 |
Number of pages | 4 |
Journal | Indian journal of medical ethics |
Volume | 8 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 2023 |
Keywords
- clinical ethics
- guided conversation
- inappropriate treatment
- intensive care unit
- surrogate decisionmaking
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Medicine