Author Question: The parents of a 12-year-old boy refuse chemotherapy to treat the child's leukemia, saying they will ... (Read 89 times)

kellyjaisingh · **on:** Jul 23, 2018

The parents of a 12-year-old boy refuse chemotherapy to treat the child's leukemia, saying they will not ruin what is left of his life with drugs that will make him feel sicker.

Which solution to this ethical dilemma would demonstrate compromise, maintaining the integrity of all involved?
a. Agreeing to allow the child to avoid chemotherapy
b. Explaining to the parents that without chemotherapy the child will die.
c. Obtaining a court order to require the parents to allow chemotherapy.
d. Agreeing to administer the chemotherapy agent with the fewest side effects.

Question 2

The nurse logs on to the electronic health record to enter the admission orders for a patient seen in the physician's office. However, when attempting to retrieve the patient's health history, the nurse keeps getting error messages.

What is the likely problem?
a. Poor interoperability
b. Lack of connectivity
c. Improperly transmitted information
d. Network failure
e. Incorrect password

Dominic · **Reply #1 on:** Jul 23, 2018

Answer to Question 1

D
Administering the chemotherapy agent with the fewest side effects demonstrates a compromise because the child receives treatment, but the parents' concerns about side effects are also considered. Allowing the child to avoid chemotherapy yields to the parents' concerns, but not the concerns of the healthcare team to do no harm to the child. Frightening the parents into agreeing with the healthcare team is coercion; a good compromise must be entered into freely. A court order is settling things by force and the parents lose their argument; a compromise cannot be obtained by force.

Answer to Question 2

A, B, C, D, E
The EHR systems between the nurse's terminal and the physician's office appear to have poor operability, which means they are not communicating effectively. One common reason for this problem is that both systems are not using standardized languages. Connectivity refers to the ways in which computers and other hardware communicate and share information. Information that is improperly transmitted would not be available to the receiving unit. Healthcare providers using an EHR would be able to retrieve patient information providing the network is working properly. Additionally, the provider must have authorized access, including correct password-protected login.