 |
|
Nursing Manual
Rights and
Risks
The values of personal choice and
independence may, at times, conflict with the values of keeping people in
the safest environment or optimizing their health. Our society allows individuals
to make bad personal choices within certain limits. A well-known example
is cigarettes. People are allowed to risk their health with tobacco, but
smoking is limited to people over the age of 18 and limited in certain environments.
People with disabilities also have
the right to make their own decisions, as long as they have a reasonable
understanding of the consequences of that decision. At times, the ISP team
will be required to consider whether a person has the capability to make
a decision. In addition, the ISP team may need to carefully weigh a person's
preferences against an optimal plan to keep the person safe. For example,
a consumer who values his privacy but also has difficulties with constipation
may not wish to have staff flush and record bowel movements (BMs). In order
to protect his privacy, the ISP team may decide that it is safe, even if
not optimal, to have the person self-report the frequency of BM's or the
lack thereof.
|
|