A 46-year-old man, estranged from his siblings, has begun showing signs of dementia and has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. The nurse tells him how important it is that he inform his siblings of his disease
He refuses stating, "I don't want them to know. Let them find out on their own." What should the nurse do?
A) Call the patient's brother and inform him of his risk for development of Alzheimer's disease.
B) Notify the geneticist and have him instruct the patient on his siblings' and parents' risk.
C) Notify the siblings' physicians about the patient's risk for development of Alzheimer's disease.
D) Instruct the patient on the importance of notifying the siblings and keep his information confidential.
Ans: D
Feedback:
The nurse must honor the patient's wishes while explaining to the patient the potential benefit this information may have to other family members. Involving the geneticist in the patient's care is very important, but notifying family members or physicians would be a breach of confidentiality. A nurse may want to disclose genetics information to family members who could experience significant harm if they do not know such information. However, the patient may have other views and may wish to keep this information from the family, resulting in an ethical dilemma for patient and nurse.
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