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101. Case: A Question from Family About Outcomes
View Case Study: 101. Case: A Question from Family About OutcomesYou are caring for a patient following a severe stroke. The attending physician has been very clear with the family that it is unlikely that the patient will survive and that, if he does, it will be with very significant impairments. Still, the family takes any movement or facial change as an indication that he…
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96. Case: Surgery, Supported Decision Making and Capacity
View Case Study: 96. Case: Surgery, Supported Decision Making and CapacityAlex is a 27 year old resident in a supported living facility. She has a diagnosis of developmental delay. She is close with her younger brother, Anton. Alex has identified Anton as someone who helps her to make decisions. The organization that runs the facility where Alex lives has recently adopted a policy in favour…
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87. Case: Considering Alternatives
View Case Study: 87. Case: Considering AlternativesJessie Rockford is an 8-year-old with a history of developmental delay, significant cognitive deficits, and symptoms of cerebral palsy. She is her parents’ only child and they are very loving, attentive, and concerned–they never miss a medical appointment and have carefully followed the care plan drawn up for their daughter. However, with the passing of…
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44. Case: Whose Business Is It?
View Case Study: 44. Case: Whose Business Is It?Brent Wathorn, 78, has been living at Halfway Lake Manor for about 6 years. His main complaint has been that he is lonely and has had difficulty connecting with the other residents. This has been a source of distress for staff at times, as they would like him to feel more ‘at home.’ Norma Carkner,…
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10. Case: At a Crossroads…
View Case Study: 10. Case: At a Crossroads…Sandra Livingstone, age 45, was admitted to the hospital with diffuse ischemic encephalopathy – a very significant, global brain injury – secondary to sustaining a massive stroke at home. It is now ten months after her admission. Ms. Livingstone is on an acute internal medicine unit where she has been living since her discharge from…
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8. Case: Who Should Decide?
View Case Study: 8. Case: Who Should Decide?This case concerns a 35-year-old developmentally delayed female patient (functional age about 5 years old); her mother is her legal guardian. The patient tested positive for a BRCA gene mutation. Her mother is concerned that her daughter may develop ovarian cancer and wants her to have preventive surgery. Her physician does not believe this is…
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6. Case: To Feed or Not to Feed?
View Case Study: 6. Case: To Feed or Not to Feed?You receive a call on the ethics line about a patient’s relative (next-of-kin and legal decision-maker) force-feeding her sister who is a patient on the unit (pushing food into the patient’s mouth and then holding her mouth closed, pinching her nose, etc. until she swallows). Apparently, this was not an uncommon approach to getting her…
Case Repository
Category: Cognitive Disability
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