Ethical Decision-Making in Physical Therapy |
CASE 4The patient is a 38-year-old patient with full-blown AIDS. You have treated this patient several times over the last two years to help the patient be able to function as independently as possible. The patient now has an encephalopathy and appears to be in pain. The family has requested on several occasions over the last two weeks that you leave the patient alone since it is apparent that the patient is in pain and is close to the end of life. You have documented this in the medical record. The nurses on the unit are very protective of the patients with AIDS and believe that you are not providing treatment to the patient due to a personal bias against the patient. Today when you arrive on the unit there is a new order in the physician order section that reads: "The physical therapist cannot allow the patient to refuse treatment." This is a for-profit hospital and this particular physician is known to cause trouble for the physical therapy department if the orders are not followed. How would you proceed?How is this an example of the principle of nonmaleficence?What other principle could also be invoked and why?
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