Ethical concerns with deeming a patient as incompetent Ethical concerns with deeming a patient as incompetent Take a moment to consider some ethical concerns with deeming a patient as incompetent. Now imagine that the patient who is being evaluated at your facility is a family member. How would your ethical concerns be affected in determining his or her competence? Would your ethical concerns differ if the patient were a stranger? Why, or why not? Your entry must be at least 200 words. ORDER INSTRUCTIONS-COMPLIANT NURSING PAPERS You must proofread your paper. But do not strictly rely on your computers spell-checker and grammar-checker; failure to do so indicates a lack of effort on your part and you can expect your grade to suffer accordingly. Papers with numerous misspelled words and grammatical mistakes will be penalized. Read over your paper ? in silence and then aloud ? before handing it in and make corrections as necessary. Often it is advantageous to have a friend proofread your paper for obvious errors. Handwritten corrections are preferable to uncorrected mistakes. Use a standard 10 to 12 point (10 to 12 characters per inch) typeface. Smaller or compressed type and papers with small margins or single-spacing are hard to read. It is better to let your essay run over the recommended number of pages than to try to compress it into fewer pages. Likewise, large type, large margins, large indentations, triple-spacing, increased leading (space between lines), increased kerning (space between letters), and any other such attempts at ?padding? to increase the length of a paper are unacceptable, wasteful of trees, and will not fool your professor. The paper must be neatly formatted, double-spaced with a one-inch margin on the top, bottom, and sides of each page. When submitting hard copy, be sure to use white paper and print out using dark ink. If it is hard to read your essay, it will also be hard to follow your argument. Order Now

ADDITIONAL DETAILS 

Ethical concerns with deeming a patient as incompetent

Introduction

When determining whether a patient is “competent” to make medical decisions, there are ethical concerns.

A patient’s ability to make medical decisions is often gauged by their medical history. However, there are ethical concerns with deeming an individual incompetent.

The ability of a patient to make medical decisions is often gauged by their medical history. However, there are ethical concerns with deeming an individual incompetent.

• A patient’s ability to make decisions about their health treatment and care can be assessed based on their past behavior or actions (e.g., what they’ve done in the past). This may include someone who has been diagnosed with depression or PTSD but does not currently require treatment for these conditions. It also includes those who have had no previous symptoms but have been diagnosed with a serious illness such as cancer, who may need more time before making such choices than someone who has never been ill before.

• If you believe that your loved one should be able to continue living at home even though she/he has dementia or another form of mental impairment – as long as she/he continues taking prescribed medications regularly then this should not pose any problems when deciding whether or not someone qualifies under this category.”

1. Setting the standard

In order to determine competence, it is important to understand the standard of care. The standard of care is a legal term that refers to how doctors and other healthcare providers should behave in their professional lives. It can range from treating patients based on what they need, versus doing something more invasive or risky; making sure all necessary tests are done before starting treatment; providing information about medications and possible side effects; following up with patients after discharge from the hospital or clinic (including follow-up visits); etcetera.

The ethical concerns with deeming a patient as incompetent stem from the fact that no one person can determine whether another person has met these standards without there being some sort of evidence supporting this conclusion — which means doctors must rely on past behavior patterns as indicators for future results when determining whether someone should be deemed competent enough not just physically but mentally as well (i.e., able).

2. What if they’re not really incompetent?

The doctor has to be able to tell if the patient is just confused, tired, in pain and depressed.

If a person doesn’t know what’s going on with their body or why they’re feeling sick, it can make them feel incompetent. A lot of people feel like they don’t have control over their bodies when they’re sick—even if they do know what’s wrong with them!

Even if the patient has been told by multiple doctors that something isn’t right with them and continues not to listen or follow instructions (such as taking medications correctly), this does not mean that person is “incapacitated”. If a patient refuses medical treatment even though he or she knows better than doctors what should be done for him/herself then there may needto be legal action taken against this person before any further action can occur.*

3. Who decides?

• Incompetent patients are not necessarily incapable of making medical decisions. A patient may be considered “incompetent” on the basis of their lack of knowledge or understanding, but they can still make their own choices about treatment and care.

• Competency is often determined by a doctor’s opinion, but it can also be determined by other factors such as:

• How well you communicate with your doctor/nurse/family members

• How much time and energy you’re willing to put into getting better (if any)

4. Who should be appointed as guardian?

When you are deciding on who will be appointed as guardian, it is important that you choose someone who is familiar with the patient and their medical history. The guardian should also be willing to take on the responsibility of making decisions for your loved one if necessary. It’s also helpful if this person can communicate with his or her doctor and other caregivers.

Patients have the right to make decisions about their health treatment and care.

Patients have the right to make decisions about their health treatment and care. However, patients can be deemed incompetent if they are unable to make decisions about their health care because of physical or mental incapacity.

• A patient may be considered incompetent if they lack the capacity to understand what is going on around them and how their treatment will affect them. This includes being unable to communicate effectively with others or express an opinion about how their condition should be managed (or how it might be improved).

• In addition, a person may also lack the ability to understand where they fit into society or its roles; this includes being unable or unwilling to follow rules set by others (including those related specifically within hospitals), as well as following instructions given by medical professionals without question—two examples which indicate possible forms of incapacity.* These factors combined mean that there exists no guarantee that any given individual who has been declared “incompetent” will continue receiving care from medical professionals after discharge from hospital settings; rather than continuing receiving treatment themselves, these individuals may opt instead for alternative forms provided by social support networks such as home visits

Conclusion

While deeming an individual incompetent is a process that can be done in a timely manner, there are ethical concerns with this practice. It should not be used as a way to avoid taking responsibility for your own actions because it gives others the power to make decisions for you without consulting you or even educating themselves on what kind of care would be best for your situation.