Resolving Ethical Dilemmas: A Guide for Clinicians 3rd Edition
Chapter 3 Informed Consent Informed consent requires physicians
to share decision-making power with patients. Many physicians,
however, are skeptical about informed consent or are even
hostile to it. Some believe that it is impossible because
patients can never understand medical situations as well as
doctors. Other physicians regard informed consent as a
meaningless legal ritual because they can almost always persuade
patients to follow their recommendations. In addition, some
patients do not want to participate in decision making, as in
the following case. What is Informed Consent? Discussions about
informed consent are often confusing because people use this
term in different senses. Agreement with the Physician’s
Recommendations Patients usually agree with physicians’
recommendations. Such an agreement is particularly common in an
acute illness, when the goals of care are clear, one option is
superior, the benefits are great, and the risks ar