Please give additional information one paragraph responding to this above post intext citation reference.
CASE #3:
14-year-old girl presents to the emergency department, accompanied by her 10-month-old daughter and boyfriend. The boyfriend is the child’s father. Patient complains of severe lower abdominal pain, although she is afebrile, with normal laboratory values and normal vital signs. No cause of the pain is able to be delineated, and the plan is to take the girl to the operating room to perform a diagnostic laparoscopy. In this case, from whom should informed consent be obtained? Provide an evidence-based reason for your answer.
Answer:
In this case, informed consent should be obtained from the patient or her parents based on the circumstances. According to U.S. state laws, authorized legal guardians or parents are given the responsibility for informed consent of their child who is a minor. There are however, exemptions for a minor to receive treatment without the informed consent of a parent or guardian. Some exemptions include a married minor, minors seeking treatment for sexually transmitted diseases, emancipated minors, psychiatric inpatient voluntary admissions, or a medical emergency that would place the minor at risk for injury or death. The last exemption relates to this minors situation since she is in a state of severe abdominal pain. It would help to have more information from this case, such as the status of her parents or guardian if they are present in her life, but she is in a state of having severe lower abdominal pain, which places her at risk for potential injury. Also, other things should be considered, such as knowing the state nurse practice act, understanding the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA) related to minors, and knowing state laws regarding minors to ensure proper protocol when caring for minors under certain situations, in this case, an emergent situation. The boyfriend does not have the right to have informed consent because he is not married to the client, and the client is not stated as emancipated minor either. The clients emergent situation should allow them to obtain informed consent since their health is at risk (Brent, 2021).
References
Brent, N. (2021, January 21). Informed consent for minors is a big issue in the ED. Retrieved January 28, 2021, from https://resources.nurse.com/informed-consent-for-minors-is-a-big-issue-in-ed
