The One Dozen Most Important Things You May Not Have Known, Understood, or Realized About American Medicine
The Health Care Team - Discussion Questions
1. The scenarios demonstrate contrasting responses on the part of the doctor. Briefly summarize the two different reactions.
2. In the first scenario, the doctor is obviously uncomfortable being challenged in front of the patient. How could she have better communicated this to the nurse?
3. How would you interpret the nurse’s response to the doctor’s comments in the first scenario?
4. What key information does the doctor not receive in the first scenario? How might this impact this patient’s management?
5. How do you think the interaction in the first scenario might impact the working relationship of this doctor and this nurse in the future?
6. In the second scenario, how is the doctor relating to the nurse?
7. What key information does the doctor receive in the second scenario that she did not receive in the first scenario? How might this impact patient management?
8. How do you think the interaction in the second scenario might impact the working relationship of this doctor and this nurse in the future?
9. Was it appropriate for the nurse to question the drug management in front of the patient? How else could she have addressed this issue?
10. The nurse in the second scenario states that the patient “has trouble talking to doctors.” Which members of the health care team might be helpful with this kind of patient, and how can the doctor best work with them?
