HLT 520 Week 7 Discussion 1 Latest-GCU

Explore the issues of how to determine if a patient is mentally competent to make his or her own decisions, especially in situations where the decisions do not appear to make sense.

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Determining if a patient is mentally competent to make his or her own decisions

Introduction

Mental competence is a legal concept, and it has nothing to do with intelligence. The concept is based on the patient’s ability to understand and reason out a decision at the time that decision is made. A patient who is not mentally competent may be incapable of understanding and reasoning out information pertaining to his or her care. The passage of time can affect an individual’s mental competence, so mental competence must be examined every time a decision must be made

Mental competence is a legal concept and has nothing to do with intelligence.

Mental competency is a legal concept and has nothing to do with intelligence. It’s about being able to think about decisions thoroughly, not about IQ or ability to reason.

Mental competency can be affected by the passage of time; for instance, someone who has been diagnosed with schizophrenia may have trouble making decisions in their later years because they’ve become less able to focus on an issue at hand.

The concept is based on the patient’s ability to understand and reason out a decision at the time that decision is made.

The concept is based on the patient’s ability to understand and reason out a decision at the time that decision is made. If a patient is not mentally competent, it may be impossible for them to understand information pertaining to their own care and make an informed decision about it.

The concept of mental competence applies only when people are making decisions about themselves—not when they’re being treated by others (like doctors). For example, if you have diabetes and your doctor tells you not to eat sugar or carbohydrates because they’ll make your blood sugar rise too high—but then invites you over for dinner at his house where there are no restrictions on food intake—you probably won’t be able to make an informed decision about whether or not this advice makes sense given everything else going on in your life right now!

A patient who is not mentally competent may be incapable of understanding and reasoning out information pertaining to his or her care.

A patient who is not mentally competent may be incapable of understanding and reasoning out information pertaining to his or her care.

• An example of this would be a patient who has dementia, which can make it difficult for them to understand their diagnosis, prognosis and risks and benefits of treatment options.

• They may also not be able to make decisions about end-of-life care.

The passage of time can affect an individual’s mental competence, so mental competence must be examined every time a decision must be made.

If you’re a mental health professional, you’ve probably heard the term “mentally competent” thrown around. But what does it mean?

Mental competency is not intelligence. It’s a legal concept that refers to someone’s ability to make their own decisions and live independently. In other words, if a patient is mentally capable of making his or her own decisions but can’t communicate them due to an illness or disability, then he/she may be considered mentally incompetent by the court system—even if he/she has proven otherwise during therapy sessions with psychologists or psychiatrists who specialize in treating such conditions.

Mental competency is about being able to think about decisions thoroughly, not about IQ.

Mental competence is not about IQ. It’s about being able to think about decisions thoroughly, which is a legal concept. It’s not the same as mental illness and it’s always a concern when making medical decisions.

In general, less than half of all people with a mental health condition are considered mentally competent by professionals who assess them for this reason alone (and many more have other issues).

Conclusion

If you have a patient who is mentally competent but making an unintelligent decision, then it’s time to take action. Insisting that the patient reconsider his or her choice could be grounds for an ethics violation and may even constitute elder abuse if the patient is being coerced into changing his or her mind about treatment. If you feel that your patient’s mental competence has been questioned by another party, you can call a meeting with social workers and other professionals at your facility to discuss how best to handle this situation in order to protect patients while still keeping families involved with medical decisions as much as possible.

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