美国密歇根作业代写:概念能力

No discussion of the concept of competence to consent would be complete without linkage to the overarching concept of informed consent. In the introduction, a brief definition for informed consent was cited. The Columbia Encyclopedia (2005) furnishes a more complete definition for the term: “a patient's…consent to a surgical or medical procedure or other course of treatment, given after the physician has told the patient all of the potential benefits, risks, and alternatives involved.” A definition that establishes a firm foundation for the discussion of competence to consent is “the process whereby someone who has the capacity/competence to consent, having been given sufficient information, arrives at a reasoned decision as to whether or not to agree to a proposed therapy or procedure” (Oral Health Toolkit, n.d.).

Central to the concept of informed consent are three requirements—voluntariness, knowledge, and competence (Reid, 2001). The latter requirement is the topic of this discussion. Competence in the context of informed consent, which Reid contends is “a legal, not a medical concept” is “the patient’s ability to make a reasonable decision.” He suggests that competence is “a functional condition, not directly attached to diagnosis,” writing that it “applies to the person’s ability—or ‘capacity’—at a particular point in time.” Stenger (1999, citing Buchanan and Brock, 1989) adds to the temporal qualification: “A competence determination…is a determination of a particular person’s capacity to perform a particular decision-making task at a particular time and under specified conditions.