Case studies provide a way for us to analyze and think-through difficult medical and moral situations. The links below will take you to stories that will challenge you to think clearly as you consider options at the crossroads of decision.

A Sister for Joshua
There are such emotional overtones to this case that it might be helpful to use Immanuel Kant’s recommendation: What if everybody performed the action with the same purpose in mind?

Mr. Jay’s Case
The doctor explained that for Mr. Jay attempting resuscitation following a pulmonary arrest was not likely to succeed. The doctor further explained that even if resuscitation restarted his lungs, Mr. Jay would require aggressive care in an intensive care unit. Given these prospects, Mr. Jay told his doctor he would prefer that resuscitation not even be attempted.

Could This Happen at Our Hospital?
What should physicians and families do, when the patient they are attending is in the dying process? The answer may not be easily categorized, but one thing is certain: the failure to communicate will always have grave consequences.

Alice’s Frail Mother
Alice watched her mother’s long slide into alzheimer’s type dementia certain that her mother’s careful attention to advance planning would be able to prevent her worst nightmares. . .

Barney Says, “No!”
Almeda’s nurses and attending physicians want her long-time friend Barney to help them determine the direction her treatment should take now that she needs dialysis. She’s already on a ventilator, a feeding tube, and receiving high doses of antibiotics. She would be better, Barney thinks, if she could watch TV a little. . .

Pain Management — Walking the Tightrope
Providers and family members alike must tread carefully when caught between a patient’s crankiness and a family’s report that the patient’s pain is not being managed.

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