A twenty-month old Puerto-Rican boy is brought to the clinic by his mother who believes he has a folk gastrointestinal illness, called empacho. His mother has been out of work with a back injury and lacks support, and the child has no signs of pathological illness. What role does the importance of diversity play in […]
A 16-year-old male member of Jehovah’s Witnesses incurred injuries in an auto accident. The injuries required surgery. He had informed both ambulance personnel and the hospital of his wish not to receive blood transfusions. Surgery was performed without the use of blood transfusions, but his blood levels continued to fall. This case deals with guardianship […]
Angela C. was a 28-year old married woman who was approximately twenty-six weeks pregnant. She had suffered from cancer since she was thirteen-years-old but had been in remission for approximately two years before she became pregnant. The pregnancy was planned, and she very much looked forward to the birth. Her health seemed reasonably good until […]
Twenty-nine-year-old Janet and her husband Jack were driving home from her ob-gyn appointment when tragedy struck. Another driver, elderly and distracted by an incoming text message, ran a red light and T-boned Janet and Jack’s Mini-Cooper. Both young people sustained severe injuries. How should the decision be made between saving the mother or baby, both […]
One day, a patient comes to see her complaining of ankle pain on his right leg. The patient is a farmer and says that he fell while he was taking care of his chickens in the chicken coup. He has some cuts and bruises on either leg, complains of a swollen right ankle, but appears […]
Jack is a hard-working employee at your restaurant in a small, rural town a few hours from the nearest big city. He has been missing work for medical treatments outside of town and has recently started to show signs of losing weight and having a cold all the time. Members of the community look to […]
A 44-year-old, divorced mother of two teenagers is diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer. The oncologist suggests that she undergo a rigorous treatment process that has probably mortality of 25%, limited efficacy and huge cost burden, which her insurance will not cover. She asks for an ethics review when the hospital will not approve the treatment […]
Delivering health care to non-English speaking immigrant populations requires knowledge and appreciation of the patient’s culture. Acquiring the skills to bride the two worlds calls for self-awareness by the practitioner and a commitment to cultural competence by the organization. What if the healthcare providers do not agree with the patient’s decision, based on each side’s […]
With a Medicare policy change, Teresa’s home health agency will no longer be able to provide her care. Her husband and sister are unable to provide the high acuity assistance she needs. What is each person’s responsibility when it comes to vulnerable patients who are not protected by the system? Apply Theory (Specific Professional Healthcare […]
A 60-year-old homeless man, “Jesse”, is found confused and in distress by a passerby who calls 911. Paramedics bring the man to the hospital. Jesse’s feet and legs are swollen and covered in ulcers and dead tissue—diagnosed as osteomyelitis, or infection of his legs. His past medical history is established to include chronic obstructive pulmonary […]
Camille M. Renella, RN, CME, LNC
Clinical Medical Ethicist/Legal Nurse Consultant
Institute of Medicine Chicago (IOMC) Fellow
Executive Director