Case 22 : MINOR’S PROXY
Case Study 22 : MINOR’S PROXY Challenges Three weeks before admission, a one-year-old girl experienced abdominal pain with vomiting, loose bowel movements (LBM), jaundice, and a 30% weight loss. Physicians diagnosed her with congenital heart disease (CHD), ventricular septal defect (VSD), tricuspid regurgitation (TR), and mitral regurgitation (MR) since birth. On the sixth hospital day, […]
Case 21 : WITHHOLDING LIFE SUPPORT
Case Study 21 : WITHHOLDING LIFE SUPPORT Challenges Patient is a 56 y/o female admitted because of difficulty of breathing. She was diagnosed with infiltrating Ductal Cell carcinoma for 3 years, and recently, with advanced pulmonary metastasis with a rapidly deteriorating condition. The doctors inform her any major intervention would most probably be of no […]
Case 20 : BENEFICENCE AND NON-MALEFICENCE
Case Study 20 : BENEFICENCE AND NON-MALEFICENCE Challenges A 62-year old female is admitted for the sixth time in the hospital because of difficulty in breathing. She is diagnosed with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and maintained regularly on anticholinergics and beta-2-agonist nebulizations. Her condition progressively deteriorates. On the fifth hospital day, the patient goes into […]
Case 19 : BURDEN
Case Study 19 : BURDEN Challenges The family of a 23-year old female patient, attached to a respirator for the past three months and in a comatose state, decides whether to discontinue the respirator’s use. They fully understand the patient’s situation, and that ethically speaking (assuming the patient is in fact entering the dying stage), […]
Case 18 : CHAPLAINCY AND HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS
Case Study 18 : CHAPLAINCY AND HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS Challenges Due to the demands of her assignments in the department, complicated by some family problems, a health care professional feels a need for support in her personal life. An encouraging colleague and close friend asks her if she tried approaching the Hospital Chaplaincy. She replies […]
Case 17 : CHAPLAINCY AND PATIENTS
Case Study 17 : CHAPLAINCY AND PATIENTS Challenges A 34-year-old male cigarette vendor is admitted with chief complaint of abdominal pain. Preliminary examination reveals a mass in the pelvic area. Patient remains conscious and appears to tolerate the pain relatively well. On the day of admission his sister suggests setting an appointment with the hospital […]
Case 16 : PATIENTS’ CONCERNS
Case Study 16 : PATIENTS’ CONCERNS Challenges A 36-year-old patient was diagnosed with a benign mass in the uterus and was scheduled for partial hysterectomy. Despite doctors’ assurances that similar cases are relatively easy to manage, the patient remains constantly uneasy and cannot sleep at night. Her husband thinks that such a reaction is quite […]
Case 15 : PEER RELATIONS
Case Study 15 : PEER RELATIONS Challenges A healthcare professional discovers a serious error committed by a colleague in the management of a certain patient. At first glance, his options seem to be the following: to keep silent about it, to discuss the matter with his colleague, to discuss the matter with the hospital administration, […]
Case 14 : CONFIDENTIALITY AND MINORS
Case Study 14 : CONFIDENTIALITY AND MINORS Challenges A 14-year-old boy came for treatment of psoriatic lesions mostly over the palm and the soles. Upon further investigation, he was diagnosed to have secondary syphilis; this was confirmed by biopsy and serologic exams. Bothered by this discovery, the dermatologist asked the boy’s mother for permission to […]
Case 13 : HEALTH MAINTENANCE ORGANIZATIONS
Case Study 13 : HEALTH MAINTENANCE ORGANIZATIONS Challenges Patient is a 55 year old female, admitted due to multiple fractures of the left femur resulting from a vehicular accident. One week later, the HMO paying her bills advised discharge. They claimed procedures directly treating the fractures were already completed, and the physical therapy she still […]
Case 12 : AUTOPSY WITHOUT CONSENT
Case Study 12 : AUTOPSY WITHOUT CONSENT Challenges A 45-year old female diagnosed with Infiltrating Ductal Carcinoma of the left breast underwent a left-modified radical mastectomy. On the 5th post-operative day her condition deteriorated rapidly; she expired the following day. Because of the patient’s totally unexpected and sudden demise, the service residents requested an autopsy […]
Case 11 : DNR and No CPR
Case Study 8 : PERSONALIZING HEALTH CARE Challenges A 45 year old male lay in a comatose state, attached to a respirator for the past three years. The doctors say he no longer holds any hope for recovery. Furthermore, the patient’s wife and children are now unable to find resources to help pay for the […]
