Table of Contents
What happens if someone refuses medical care?
Every competent adult has the right to refuse unwanted medical treatment. This is part of the right of every individual to choose what will be done to their own body, and it applies even when refusing treatment means that the person may die.
What does medically gaslight mean?
According to the CPTSD Foundation, medical gaslighting occurs when a doctor or medical professional dismisses or trivializes a person’s health concerns based on the assumption they are mentally ill. They may tell the person their symptoms are “in their head,” for example.
What to do when a patient is not responding to staff?
If all else fails and the patient is not responding to staff, loved ones, or doctors, I may ask for a psychiatric consult to determine whether or not the patient is clinically depressed or could benefit from a medication adjustment. Typically, these patients are vehemently opposed to psychiatric evaluation so this is almost the “nuclear” option.
What is the role of the physician in the dying process?
Caring for the dying patient is among the most challenging clinical tasks a physician faces. Physicians take great pains to alleviate suffering and are trained to prolong life—especially when a satisfactory quality of life can be maintained.
Can a patient with a terminal illness ask to hasten death?
Therefore, when a patient with a terminal illness asks to hasten his or her own death, conflict often arises. To a physician, this request can be confusing, anxiety provoking, and infuriating. However, requests to hasten death generally signal the presence of physical, psychological, or social stressors that can frequently be ameliorated.
What does it mean when a patient wants to hasten death?
However, requests to hasten death generally signal the presence of physical, psychological, or social stressors that can frequently be ameliorated. Understanding the nature of such requests allows physicians to ease suffering and reduce the desire for death in such patients.