edie
I can, and I will.
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You GA fans may remember this one, inspired by a case of a patient of Dr. Burke's that was diagnosed with psuedohermaphroditism.
Your male, 37 y.o. patient, whom you also know socially, presents with abdominal pain. MRI reveals bilateral masses in the pelvis. Needle biopsy reveals XX chromosomes. The Pt's wife if currently 8 months pregnant, and is present when you tell the Pt the presumptive diagnosis, and that you would like to run more tests. You then speak to the wife privately, telling her that it is impossible that the child is the patient's. She agrees that it is not, and begs you not to say anything to the patient, that they are happy, and what he doesn't know won't hurt him. Since you know the Pt as a friend, you know that the truth would devastate him and the marriage would likely end. Do you:
a. Agree with the wife and let the Pt believe that he is the father of the child
b. Tell her that you will only tell him the diagnosis, but will leave out the part about his infertility, urging her to tell the truth about the pregnancy, as you do not want to cause a divorce
c. Disagree and tell the wife that the Pt has a right to know all about the Dx, including his infertility, and if the news ends in divorce, so be it
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| sarika
Forum Guru
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or d. "Well, now i can understand how shocking and unsettling it maybe for you as a wife to know about your husband's condition, i still think that he should know the truth sooner rather than later. It would be best if the truth comes from you the wife rather than anyone else. But if for some reason you decide otherwise, it will be my responsibility as a caregiver to let him know the truth about his diagnosis as well as his infertility".
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| edie
I can, and I will.
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 Thanks for adding that one, sarika  And on that note, I choose D 
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| new_n_lost
Politically InCorrect
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sarika wrote:or d. "Well, now i can understand how shocking and unsettling it maybe for you as a wife to know about your husband's condition, i still think that he should know the truth sooner rather than later. It would be best if the truth comes from you the wife rather than anyone else. But if for some reason you decide otherwise, it will be my responsibility as a caregiver to let him know the truth about his diagnosis as well as his infertility".
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FORUM RULES-- Those who believe in telekinesis, raise my hand. I get enough exercise just by pushing my luck --P4U World.." The pure and simple truth is rarely pure and never simple."
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| arlete
Intern in 2009!!!!!
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When men make the rules, God decides the exceptions.
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| bbb
IM Program Coordinator
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edie wrote:
Since you know the Pt as a friend, you know that the truth would devastate him and the marriage would likely end.
Should you be treating a friend?
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bbb - trying to combine common sense and humour into realistic answers, but not going to guess on anyone's chances of getting into a position....
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| edie
I can, and I will.
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bbb wrote:
Should you be treating a friend?
Hence the title of the thread, "Ethics and Greys Anatomy" They treat friends, lovers, spouses and parents, and even their own bosses and colleagues on GA. Afterwards, they go hookup in the on call room for steamy intern/attending or intern/nurse sex...gotta love television
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| edie
I can, and I will.
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But to answer your question about treating a friend...not sure? I think friend is not as bad as spouse or relative?
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| po
Forum Elite
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ethically[behav sci] may be wrong but how can you say "No" to a friend,practically difficult
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| sarika
Forum Guru
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Ok if we talk about technicalities, another problem is Why Dr. burke even discussed the diagnosis with the wife first without prior permission from his patient?
Wrong wrong wrong!
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| po
Forum Elite
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yah, we have to rely on behav sci books for our ethical dicisionsI guess you learn these things over the years but what do you answer in step 1 exam?
By the way,is this a real step 1 q?
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| edie
I can, and I will.
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Nope, just put it up here for discussion. The patient/doc q's worry me, so trying to get understanding about diff scenarios, ESPECIALLY the differences bet "real world", "common sense" and "Step 1" answers
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