Category: Patient Safety

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  • 98. Case: Talking About an Adverse Event

    You are a respiratory therapist working in a large hospital seeing a range of patients, but primarily working with the teams in the Emergency Department and ICU.  With one complex patient in ICU there was a miscommunication that resulted in improper settings being used for ventilation and this resulted in the patient having a longer-than-expected…

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  • 95. Case: MAiD and Depressive Disorder

    An assumption for the purposes of the case – these circumstances are happening in the perhaps not-too-distant future after the Supreme Court of Canada has struck down Bill C-14’s ‘reasonably foreseeable death’ criterion. Sally York is a 54 year-old, single, unemployed woman who has a longstanding history of treatment-resistant major depressive disorder. Her mother experienced…

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  • 93. Case: Mr. Rattan Wants to Stay

    Mr. Rattan has been a resident at Ocean Wind, a retirement community offering a range of options for accommodation, for the last ten years since his partner died.  Currently he has a studio apartment in the assisted living wing, which provides assistance with ADLs. Mr. Rattan has been diagnosed with dementia.  In the last few…

    View Case Study: 93. Case: Mr. Rattan Wants to Stay

  • 91. Case: Franklin Isn’t Safe at Home

    Franklin Pictou is a 68 year old with limited mobility receiving post-surgical follow up care in the home. He wishes to remain in his dwelling, which is not especially clean and poses hazards to him (uneven stairs, loose carpets, wood stove for heat, and mould) and to health care providers (bed bugs). He chooses to…

    View Case Study: 91. Case: Franklin Isn’t Safe at Home

  • 89. Case: Who Has a Right to Know?

    Kevin is a14-year-old admitted to hospital with persistent headache, muscle spasms, tremors, significant motor impairment, fever, cough and symptoms of liver damage. A diagnosis of lipoid pneumonia has been made and his clinicians are very suspicious that he has been inhaling nitrite compounds. Eventually they are able to confirm this when one of the team…

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  • 88. Case: Whose Problem Is It?

    Case substantially modified from “Obesity in Kids: When Appeals to Vanity Don’t Work,” Virtual Mentor 8(10): 377-380, October 2006 – see virtualmentor.ama-assn.org Nicholas has the option of spending the summer in an intensive weight reduction program at a health facility in Ontario. This highly regarded program accepts only 10 adolescents each summer, based on medical…

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  • 87. Case: Considering Alternatives

    Jessie 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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  • 86. Case: Herbs in the Hospital

    Katrina Chen is a 23 year old with a history of severe anxiety and hospitalization after particularly acute panic attacks.  She has tried a variety of psychotropic medications and of these she believes that Prozac is the best at managing her symptoms.  She is concerned, however, with its addictive nature and doesn’t like taking “chemicals”.…

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  • 85. Case: Adam’s Story

    Adam Snowdon, a 16 year-old Sydney boy, was diagnosed with ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) 18 months ago.  The disease has progressed rapidly over the past three months and over this period Adam has quickly begun losing the ability to use his right arm to the point now where it is no longer effectively functional.  He…

    View Case Study: 85. Case: Adam’s Story

  • 74. Case: Compulsive Hoarding – Mary

    Mary is a 72 year old woman who has been a compulsive hoarder for the last 10 years.  She can only move from room to room through pathways. She would like to move closer to her daughter and grandchildren, but she feels overwhelmed by the amount of stuff she has in her house. Despite the…

    View Case Study: 74. Case: Compulsive Hoarding – Mary

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