informed consent paper
Comprehending Informed Consent
Susan Komosinski
Brookdale Community College: NURS 165DE
Comprehension and mutual understanding between the physician and the patient is pivotal when it comes to patient safety. In regards to making a meaningful and intelligent choice about a procedure, the patient’s safety lies in understanding the pros and cons, and risk factors of the treatment. The physician must obtain a signed informed consent from the patient. Although it is the physician’s responsibility to obtain and explain the doctrine of informed consent, ultimately the nurse must be the patient’s advocate. If the nurse has any reason to suspect that the patient has not given informed consent, the physician should be informed immediately (Cherry and Jacob, 2011, p.181). Many negligence claims have occurred because of the misunderstanding of the informed consent and poor communications between the patients and the providers.
What is informed consent? Informed consent is the patient’s voluntary agreement to undergo a particular procedure or treatment after having received the following information in layman’s terms by the physician: description of the procedure as well as any alternative therapies, the underlying disease process and its natural course, name and qualifications of the person performing the procedure, explanation of risks involved including risk for damage, disfigurement, or death and how often they occur, explanation that the patient has the right to refuse and consent can be withdrawn, and explanation of expected outcome, recovery, and rehabilitation (Taylor, 2011, p.823). Ultimately, there has to be understanding and comprehension from the patient; the patient has to be drug free prior to signing the consent – therefore if they have had morphine for pain or
sleeping medication – then the nurse cannot really get an informed consent. And the consent must be given voluntarily – the patient must not be persuaded or coerced to undergo the procedure.
Susan Komosinski
Brookdale Community College: NURS 165DE
Comprehension and mutual understanding between the physician and the patient is pivotal when it comes to patient safety. In regards to making a meaningful and intelligent choice about a procedure, the patient’s safety lies in understanding the pros and cons, and risk factors of the treatment. The physician must obtain a signed informed consent from the patient. Although it is the physician’s responsibility to obtain and explain the doctrine of informed consent, ultimately the nurse must be the patient’s advocate. If the nurse has any reason to suspect that the patient has not given informed consent, the physician should be informed immediately (Cherry and Jacob, 2011, p.181). Many negligence claims have occurred because of the misunderstanding of the informed consent and poor communications between the patients and the providers.
What is informed consent? Informed consent is the patient’s voluntary agreement to undergo a particular procedure or treatment after having received the following information in layman’s terms by the physician: description of the procedure as well as any alternative therapies, the underlying disease process and its natural course, name and qualifications of the person performing the procedure, explanation of risks involved including risk for damage, disfigurement, or death and how often they occur, explanation that the patient has the right to refuse and consent can be withdrawn, and explanation of expected outcome, recovery, and rehabilitation (Taylor, 2011, p.823). Ultimately, there has to be understanding and comprehension from the patient; the patient has to be drug free prior to signing the consent – therefore if they have had morphine for pain or
sleeping medication – then the nurse cannot really get an informed consent. And the consent must be given voluntarily – the patient must not be persuaded or coerced to undergo the procedure.