Question

You have been called to a home for an alert and oriented female with terminal lung cancer. At the​ home, the​ daughter, who has her​ mother's durable power of​ attorney, states that she wants her mother transported to the hospital. The​ patient, who is alert and​ oriented, does not want to go. Which statement indicates that the EMT is acting both appropriately and legally in this​ conflict

Answer 1

"I know that you are the durable power of​ attorney, but your mother is alert and oriented so we cannot legally take her against her​ will."

Step-by-step explanation:

In cases of legal proceedings involving a sick or ill patient, the durable power of attorney is the legal power that can control and decide what the best option is for the ill patient. This means that the power of attorney has all the rights to do things as a representative of that patient.

But in the given passage, though the daughter has the power of attorney, her mother who's still "alert and oriented" has the right to decide what she wants. The existence of the power of attorney is in the case of the mother becoming unconscious or unable to decide on her own.

So, the most appropriate and legal response the EMT can do is to tell the daughter that even though she's the durable power of attorney, as long as the mother is alert and oriented, the medical team cannot legally take her against her will.