Non-Engagement With Therapeutic Medication
During your final year at medical school, you decide to attend the hospital’s clinical ethics committee meeting as you have an interest in medical ethics and would like to see what type of cases are brought for discussion. Tonight, a diabetes specialist nurse has presented a case of a 16-year-old girl who has suffered from diabetes since a young age. She has previously had well-controlled blood sugar levels with a four times daily insulin regime and carbohydrate counting. Over the last year, however, the nurse has become very concerned about a decline in her physical health. She does not think that this patient is taking her insulin regularly as she is losing weight, has had recurrent infections and her blood sugars have risen. She has also missed several important appointments including one with the pediatric consultant. Whenever the nurse tries to discuss her diabetic control, the patient closes up and insists her medication control is fine. The nurse is at a loss as to how to help her further.
- How can this patient’s non-engagement with treatment be managed?
- How can the medical profession encourage teenagers to engage with healthcare?
Apply Theory (Specific Professional Healthcare Competencies + Clinical Medical Ethical Principles) to Practice in order to provide Optimal Patient-Centered Care (OPCC)
Clinical Ethics and Law, Second edition. Carolyn Johnston, Penelope Bradbury, Series editor: Janice Ryme
