Question

A 38-year-old Laotian male was in a car accident and sustained multiple injuries. He was taken to the nearest hospital for treatment. Upon arrival, it was determined that he needed lots of invasive interventions to stabilize his condition. However, the hospital staff gave the man care but they didn’t really utilize the interpreter services phone line to explain what was happening. A short time later, the patient appears anxious and wasn’t as cooperative as when he first arrived, delaying care. What can you as a student nurse do? What is the ethical dilemma? Are any bill of rights or laws violated and if so, which ones and how? How does this impact the patient’s plan of care? What possible solutions are there for this situation?

Answer 1

Ans) The first part concerns the patient population, - patients with mental disorders or dementia. The second part concerns the intervention, which is the use of concealed medications in food or drink. The third part is the comparison of this intervention with the alternative of prescribing in the standard fashion, i.e., openly with the patient’s consent, or forcibly provided that a court order can be obtained. Forcible medication involves the physical restraint of the patient and then injection intramuscularly, without the patient’s consent and against the patient’s objections. The fourth part concerns the best interests of the patient, which here concerns whether there is an ethical justification for concealed medication.