Top ten types of informed consent your supervisor never told you about

[Ten myths about informed consent].

The author reviews ten myths that, in his opinion, make up the perspective of many professionals on informed consent (IC). A viewpoint, on the other hand, that is imprecise and of low ethical and juridical quality. The myths are: 1. IC is something foreign to the moral duties of doctors. 2. IC consists in getting the patients to sign the form authorising an intervention. 3. Good clinical practi...

Top 10 words of leadership advice … or, things your mother never told you!

Nursing leaders are in a unique position within the healthcare system. Today there is more emphasis on multidisciplinary care, cost containment and corporate accountability. Often this means that leaders have a unique connection with front-line providers, require a different set of skills and work with different stakeholders on ways to advance the system. In my role as president of ACEN, I have...

"You never told me that could happen!" Consent and litigation: how to avoid it.

It certainly can seem that whenever something goes wrong, patients want to sue the individual concerned. If they cannot show that the doctor was negligent in the procedure that was performed, they often claim that “you never told me that could happen”. To help avoid litigation in this area, three factors should be considered: (1) What you tell the patient; (2) How you tell them; and (3) What yo...

You never forget your first time.

Ten falsehoods your staff will tell you.

5. We have too much work for staff we have and we need to hire another. The dentist cannot afford to have even one extra staff person, nor can they afford the luxury of working inefficiently. This may be a good time for the doctor and staff to review the way they do things and streamline operations if need be. The number of staff needed is based on activity. Decrease activity and your staff wil...