Informed Consent Case Study
Based on the information provided, analyze this case study and offer your own thoughts and opinions on why this is appropriate.
If not, what you would have done otherwise? Be sure to include the sort of documentation you feel should be incorporated in the health record in such a scenario.
Adhere to APA writing guidelines.
Case study
“Coercion is commonly said to invalidate consent, and that is always true if the source of the coercion is the physician. However, if it is a family member who coerces the patient to consent, the resultant consent may be quite valid and treatment should proceed.” However, there must be clear evidence of mental incompetence. Consider the following case.
Caroline Mace, RN,* had never run into a situation quite like this one. Minnie Jones*, a 76-year-old white female, presented with severe hip pain after a fall in a shopping mall. Alert and oriented, she cooperated fully in all diagnostic tests and care while in the emergency department (ED). However, when the physician told her the diagnosis—fractured hip—she refused to allow further treatment and demanded she be allowed to die with dignity. After attempting to persuade for the better part of an hour, the ED physician called her oldest son for permission to treat her. The son was out of the country, but after a discussion with the physician, he gave permission for treatment.
Caroline was told to give Mrs. Jones her preoperative medication. Flanked by a big orderly, she told Mrs. Jones her physician had ordered a sedative to be given to her before surgery. Mrs. Jones replied, “I don’t want to go to surgery. I’ve heard all about how many people die from broken hips and I’ve decided it’s my time! The doctor said my son gave his permission, but my son has no right to speak for me. I said no, and I mean no. Leave me alone, and let me die in peace!” When Caroline threatened to have the orderly physically restrain her, Mrs. Jones “consented” to the injection.
Once Mrs. Jones dozed off, the nurse sent her to the operating room without a signed operative permit, but with notations that her son had been contacted and had given verbal permission for the surgery. Mrs. Jones made it through surgery with flying colors, but developed pneumonia postoperatively and was put on a ventilator. She didn’t respond to various antibiotics and became disoriented. Her son returned from vacation to find his mother in the intensive care unit with a poor prognosis. Angry and threatening to sue, he said he never would have consented to surgery if he’d known about the complications.
