A 23-year-old Navajo man has injured his leg after a fall. He presents to the emergency room of the reservation hospital where he is complaining of pain. His leg appears to be broken. The man requests that you call a medicine man before doing anything further.
Should you find a medicine man? Should you proceed with treatment?
Cross-cultural Issues and Diverse Beliefs
Case 1
A mother brings her 18-month-old daughter to your office for a routine physical examination. The child has had no immunizations. Her mother says that they believe that vaccines weaken the immune system and have heard that vaccination can cause autism.
What is your role in this situation? Can parents refuse to immunize their children?
NOTE: The UW Dept. of Bioethics & Humanities is in the process of updating all Ethics in Medicine articles for attentiveness to the issues of equity, diversity, and inclusion. Please check back soon for updates!
Confidentiality:
Case 2
A 75-year-old woman shows signs of abuse that appears to be inflicted by her husband. As he is her primary caregiver, she feels dependent on him and pleads with you not to say anything to him about it.
How is this case different from Case 1? How would you handle this situation?
Confidentiality:
Case 1
Your 36-year-old patient has just tested positive for HIV. He asks that you not inform his wife of the results and claims he is not ready to tell her yet.
What is your role legally? What would you say to your patient?
NOTE: The UW Dept. of Bioethics & Humanities is in the process of updating all Ethics in Medicine articles for attentiveness to the issues of equity, diversity, and inclusion. Please check back soon for updates!
Complementary Medicine:
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Your patient has been suffering from chronic low back pain for many years now. She voices her frustration with the various treatment modalities that you have been trying and says she is considering getting acupuncture. How do you respond? |
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Complementary Medicine:
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A young mother has just been informed that her 2-year-old son has leukemia. The mother refuses permission to begin chemotherapy and informs the team that their family physician (a naturopath) will follow the child's illness. What should you do? |
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NOTE: The UW Dept. of Bioethics & Humanities is in the process of updating all Ethics in Medicine articles for attentiveness to the issues of equity, diversity, and inclusion. Please check back soon for updates!
You are a 25-year-old female medical student doing a rotation in an HIV clinic. Sara is a 30-year-old woman with advanced HIV who dropped out of college after she found that she contracted HIV from her husband, who has hemophilia. In talking to Sara, it turns out you share a number of things--you are from the same part of Montana originally, also have young children, and like to cook. Later in the visit, when you suggest that she will need some blood tests, she gets very angry and says, "What would you know about this?"
What happened?