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53. Case: Disease Stigma
View Case Study: 53. Case: Disease StigmaA patient has been followed by you, his family doctor, for several medical issues and is being seen for a minor work-related injury. He is very negative and tearful but will not acknowledge his symptoms when asked. You believe he is depressed and you know you can provide treatment for his depression. However, the patient…
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51. Case: Confidentiality and Privacy
View Case Study: 51. Case: Confidentiality and PrivacyJoanne Baker, a nurse practitioner in a small community, prescribed a partial opiate agonist to a young man, Brian, for treatment of prescription opiate dependence. Brian is talented and plays on the same soccer team as Joanne’s son. Three weeks later, Brian is found unresponsive after an overdose of opiates, requiring intubations and medical evacuation…
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50. Case: Overlapping Relationships
View Case Study: 50. Case: Overlapping RelationshipsDuring a routine physical examination at your rural practice, one of your teenage patients shares that he has seen another teenage patient using cocaine at your neighbour’s house. Some Values and Ethics Issues to Consider
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48. Case: Shared Experience
View Case Study: 48. Case: Shared ExperienceYou have recently started working as an RN in cardiology at the local pediatric health centre. One of the first cases you are involved with hits a little close to home. It involves a 2-year old patient named Kira who has a congenital cardiac abnormality. The clinical circumstances are similar to what you experienced with…
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47. Case: Collegial Responsibilities
View Case Study: 47. Case: Collegial ResponsibilitiesYou are a pediatric critical care specialist working in the ICU taking care of a newborn infant who suffered a severe, prolonged reduction in blood flow to his brain at the time of birth. The consulting neurologist has indicated that the infant’s prognosis for functional neurological recovery is very poor in the unlikely event that…
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45. Case: Un/Reasonable Expectations?
View Case Study: 45. Case: Un/Reasonable Expectations?It’s one of those days that you don’t look forward to as a manager. You have two complaints about staff that need to be dealt with, and it seems that these types of issues are increasing. The first complaint is from Ann about what was posted on another staff member’s social networking page. Ann visited…
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42. Case: “Oops, Did I Say Too Much?” The Ethics of Confidentiality
View Case Study: 42. Case: “Oops, Did I Say Too Much?” The Ethics of ConfidentialityYou work with a variety of patients and families, and often see firsthand both the joys and disappointments that can come with trying to manage mental health issues. Over time, you have developed some special expertise in working with patients with schizophrenia and often are asked by family doctors for assessments and/or support with treatment…
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29. Case: Complicated Caring
View Case Study: 29. Case: Complicated CaringMr. Sundown is a 78-year old African Nova Scotian who is a patient in an internal medicine clinical unit at the Halifax Infirmary. He has a variety of serious medical conditions including diabetes, coronary artery disease, and advanced COPD. He is experiencing progressive respiratory failure on the basis of a difficult-to-treat pneumonia. Mr. Sundown has…
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28. Case: Mind the Gap!
View Case Study: 28. Case: Mind the Gap!Mrs. Hardriver is admitted through ER to a general surgery unit for emergency surgical management of an acute small bowel obstruction secondary to her advanced colorectal cancer. After surgery, Palliative Care is consulted and they agree to admit Mrs. Hardriver to their service. As there is no palliative care bed available at the time of…


