The goals of informed consent, respect for patient autonomy and provision of beneficent care, cannot be met without a competent patient. Thus determining a patient's competence is the critical first step to informed consent. Determining competence depends on defining it, yet surprisingly, no widely accepted definition of competence exists. White identifies nine capacities that patients must exhibit to be competent. She approaches the problem from the task-oriented nature of decision making and focuses on the problems of defining competence within clinical practice. Her proposed definition is based on understanding competence as occurring in a special rather than a general context; as occurring in degrees rather than at a precise threshold; as independent of consequential appeals; and as incorporating affective as well as cognitive capacities.
Combining both an ethical overview and practical guidelines, this book will be of value to health care professionals, bioethicists, and lawyers.
The goals of informed consent, respect for patient autonomy and provision of beneficent care, cannot be met without a competent patient. Thus determining a patient's competence is the critical first step to informed consent. Determining competence depends on defining it, yet surprisingly, no widely accepted definition of competence exists. White identifies nine capacities that patients must exhibit to be competent. She approaches the problem from the task-oriented nature of decision making and focuses on the problems of defining competence within clinical practice. Her proposed definition is based on understanding competence as occurring in a special rather than a general context; as occurring in degrees rather than at a precise threshold; as independent of consequential appeals; and as incorporating affective as well as cognitive capacities.
Combining both an ethical overview and practical guidelines, this book will be of value to health care professionals, bioethicists, and lawyers.
![Competence to Consent](http://img.images-bn.com/static/redesign/srcs/images/grey-box.png?v11.11.4)
Competence to Consent
240![Competence to Consent](http://img.images-bn.com/static/redesign/srcs/images/grey-box.png?v11.11.4)
Competence to Consent
240Product Details
ISBN-13: | 9780878405602 |
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Publisher: | Georgetown University Press |
Publication date: | 09/28/1994 |
Series: | Clinical Medical Ethics Series |
Pages: | 240 |
Product dimensions: | 6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.57(d) |
Age Range: | 18 Years |