Watching tonight's episode of House...

[emtfarva]

Tonight's episode of House MD was about a 13 y/o Pt that had a secret kept from him by his parents. The kid had a genetic d/o that made him a male/female. The parents chose to make him a male. His parents kept it a secret from him. Well, the kid got sick and the parents asked the doctors to keep the fact that he was altered at birth a secret.

My question for you all is: If a case similar to this or any thing where the parents wanted to keep a secret from your Pt, would you follow the parents wishes or would you tell the Pt if the Pt asks you?

This is a tough one for me. I don't think I could keep that information a secret from the Pt. I guess I would have to tell the Pt the truth. Then again, what could that do to the Pt? Could that send the Pt into emotional shock? Could that make the Pt better or worse? I don't know. What do you think?

 

[spnx]

I just finished watching that too. Interesting first post to the board for me, commenting on House

I couldn't tell the patient that. That's the parents' information to share. I see that as something between the parent and child that I don't have any business interfering in.

 

[emtfarva]

I don't mean that whole situation that was on house, but what if the Pt had a broken arm and the parents didn't want the kid to know for some reason. Or worse, if the Pt was dieing and the Pt asked you that. I sometimes parents are overprotective and do not realize what their kids can handle. What if the kid had CA? I don't know what I would do. I would think if I was placed in that situation I would do the right thing, I hope.

 

[trevor1189]

I love House but when they did the Pericardiocentesis tonight I wanted to start laughing when she jammed that needle into his chest. :wacko:

 

[medicdan]

It's not our role in patient care to make sure that a minor patient understands all of their diagnosis. Because the patient is a minor, the parents (assuming they are legal guardians) have the right to withhold and information from their children, however we may disagree with that- and there isnt much we can do about it.

That does not mean we should lie to the patient.
This case involves much more medical ethics then is covered in 120 hours of an EMT course (described by some as nothing more than advanced first aid).

Just stick with the status quo, unless it interferes with emergency care.