Biomedical, Case Study Example

The medical professional I am choosing is an advanced practice nurse who works at a small women’s health clinic in an under-serviced area of rural West Virginia. Here is a list of characteristics I would expect from her and why I think they are important:

Medical knowledge: this characteristic is the keystone, for without the required medical knowledge, diagnosis and treatment of the given disease process would not be possible.

Professional behavior: it is important to always remember the important and unique role that one plays in the lives of one’s patients and to fulfill that role for one’s patients at all times

Compassion: without stepping over any boundaries, to be able to feel empathy for one’s patients and to try to understand where they are coming from is a crucial part of the clinician-patient relationship; this can be especially true for poor or under-serviced communities

Patience: this is essential for active listening, and to be able to hear patients out when they are speaking of their concerns; without it, important information can be overlooked.

The concepts of “truth telling” and the concept of “informed consent” are interrelated but separate entities. Both involve a degree of honesty and both require a trusting relationship between the practitioner and the patient. The onus of “truth telling” largely falls upon the practitioner, who generally has a higher degree of medical knowledge than his or her patient and has the responsibility to explain to the patient, as honestly and thoroughly as possible, what their disease process is and how is can be treated. The patient, then, can undertake “informed consent”, that is, they have the opportunity to agree to a procedure or course of treatment with full knowledge of the consequences of that procedure or treatment (and also the consequences of not agreeing to it). Both “truth telling” and “informed consent” must take place for a functional patient-clinician relationship.