A competent adult Jehovah's Witness with massive postpartum bleeding refuses a blood transfusion, and her husband urges the team to give blood anyway. What is the best nursing action?
Answer and explanation
Correct answer: A. Respect the informed refusal, document it, and discuss non-blood options such as volume expanders and cell salvage
- Step 1: A competent adult may refuse treatment, including life-saving transfusion, after being informed of the risks.
- Step 2: A spouse cannot override a competent patient, so the nurse supports the refusal, documents it, and helps the team use acceptable alternatives.
Answer
Respect the informed refusal and offer alternatives.
Why not the others: The husband cannot consent for a competent adult; a court order is unnecessary; labelling the patient as confused without assessment is unsupported.
Practise more Emergency Care, Infection Control and Medical Ethics.
Free questions with an explanation for every one, and full timed MOH Prometric mock tests.
More Emergency Care, Infection Control and Medical Ethics questions
- According to American Heart Association (AHA) BLS guidelines, what is the recommended chest compression rate for adult cardiopulmonary resus…
- What is the single most effective healthcare practice for preventing healthcare-associated infections (HAIs)?
- What type of transmission-based precautions are mandatory for an adult patient hospitalized with confirmed open pulmonary Tuberculosis?
- What ethical principle asserts the patient's right to self-determination and informed consent in medical decision-making?
- In mass casualty triage (START protocol), how should an adult victim who cannot walk and is breathing at 24 breaths/min with a palpable radi…
- Immediately following an accidental needlestick injury with a hollow-bore needle from an unknown source patient, the healthcare worker shoul…