interesting situation.. what would YOU do?!
Question: say you were a doctor at a big time hospital in your city. and a 25 year old patient comes in with a gunshot wound to his chest. if not operated on soon, he could die but you could save him easily with a 30-minute operation. But, he says no, he doesn't want to be saved, he says that he wants to die, and INSISTS you do nothing to save his life. At this point, what do you do?
a. disregard his statements, sedate him, and save his life.
b. try to convince him to get the operation, but do nothing until he agrees.
c. say ok, back off, and give him pain medication until he passes on.
d. consult with you hospital's ethic's committee and try to get a court order to save his life.
e. [fill in your own answer here]
Answers:
The answer is B. You can not force someone to be treated.
Other Answers:
be true to the oath I took as a doctor to save lives
if he is coming to the hospital that means he wants to be saved. Some people say something and mean something else - I would sedate him and save him.
A. He might not be in the right state of mind to make a decision like that. Life is better than death.
B, and pray for him!
definatley a. disregard his statements, sedate him, and save his life.I hate it when I hear that people die especially of these sad situations. Life is better than death.
If he's an organ donor, call the ice chest in and start checking the waiting lists.
The oath is not broken because the result can save several people with a will to live.
If he isn't an organ donor, save him & then ask him to become one since he'll probably be returning to the hospital soon.
Well D. Would be my first choice,however I know that you aren't going to get a court order in less than 30 minutes,but at least you tried to save his life even though he didn't think it was worth saving at the time.
This is actually a great question! It should raise some people's awareness of how important it is to have a living will,even if you're young. Then the hospitals,in an emergency situation such as this,know what YOU want and don't have to make the decision for you.
C. its his choice to live or die, a doctor do whatever he can to help people in need, not force them to live against their will.
It's a Doctor's duty to save lives. If this man self inflicted the wound his state of mind is not clear enough to make that type of decision. If he was shot by someone else he may be too afraid to live. I believe the doctor HAS to save him unless mhe has a valid living will that states nothing should be done even if he could get better and go on tho live a normal life with the surgery.
Right off the bat the paramedics violated his rights by forcing him to go to the hospital.
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