Jan : Informed consent - Lesson with Dr. J

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"Ok, here's one"
As he sutures patient's entropion left lower eye lid, Dr.J asks me a question what the informed consent is.

My mind boggles down to typical pre-med answers.
Informed consent to be given to patients who are mentally capable to understand the kind of procedure they are agreeing to, if not decision makers, who, looking after the patients best interest, makes a decision for the patient.

He paused for a moment and says, "informed consent is letting patients know about "risks" and "benefits" about the "intervention" vs. "non-intervention" where the communication is an absolute key. As you can't explain risks and benefits in Latin to English-only speaking patients - communication between patients and health-care providers is most important.


Informed consent from Wikipedia:
Informed consent is a phrase often used in LAW to indicate that the consent a person gives meets certain minimum standards. As a literal matter, in the absence of fraud, it is redundant.

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Relating to informed consent.

"Patient-Centered-Care". 

"Patient-focused-care, there shouldn't even be a word, for it. It sounds like Doctors are ignorant of patients if such things are to be taught." 

"It's just like a chicken nugget advertising ' now with 100% chicken!' you wonder what was in it before."

What I realized from this paradigm shift was a sad, sad truth... that such concept had to be coined, made and taught -when it is an obvious common sense. Dr. J who thinks ethics taught in medical school is an absolute bogus sometimes expresses too strong of an opinion for me, who is a complete outsider (at least it is hard to identify with his perception at this point in my life). But given that, "policy are often made as are with campaign, by people "not in the trenches", it's rather hard to see the rational behind some of the stuff." So things are kind of out of touch with reality in a sense.

Let's think back what I remember from patient-centered-care.

That everyone is a part of a team, every professional should be well-respected and that they share a common goal - which is to say for patient's best interest - with patient-centered. 

But, when you meet some of the patients who demand too much of a health care that shouldn't give them too much privilege (because of their crying and nagging and threats) - ie.// medically irrelevant procedure which patient expects to be billed under the health care - you think if the policy itself may not be so perfect after all.

It sounds good, it looks good, but just not realistic "in the trenches"