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Question

A doctor is treating a patient who refuses to take life-saving medication due to personal beliefs. What should the doctor do?

This question was previously asked in
SSC CGL 2025 Tier 1 Question Paper (25-Sep-2025) (Shift 3)
The correct answer is
Attempt to counsel the patient and document refusal.

Ethical Response to Patient Medication Refusal

This scenario involves balancing the ethical principles of patient autonomy (the right to make decisions about one's own healthcare) and beneficence (the duty to act in the patient's best interest).

Key Actions for the Doctor

  • Counseling: The doctor must first engage with the patient. This involves understanding the reasons behind the refusal (personal beliefs) and explaining the potential consequences of not taking the life-saving medication clearly and compassionately. The goal is to ensure the patient makes an informed decision, even if it contradicts medical advice.
  • Documentation: It is crucial to meticulously document the conversation, including the patient's refusal, the information provided by the doctor about risks and benefits, and confirmation that the patient understood this information. This protects both the patient and the doctor.

Evaluating the Options

  • Option 1 (Respect choice): While respecting autonomy is important, a doctor also has a duty of care. Simply respecting the choice without attempting to inform or counsel the patient is insufficient.
  • Option 2 (Counsel and document): This is the recommended approach. It respects patient autonomy while fulfilling the doctor's duty to inform and protect themselves through documentation.
  • Option 3 (Force medication): Forcing medication against a competent adult patient's will is unethical and illegal, violating patient autonomy.
  • Option 4 (Ignore patient): This constitutes patient abandonment and is unethical and unprofessional.

Therefore, the most appropriate action is to attempt to counsel the patient and document their refusal.

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Important Questions from Analytical Decision Making

  1. A college council is auditioning students for a cultural festival. They must satisfy the following criteria —
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    2. Student must know to play at least one musical instrument.

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  2. ‘MPQO’ is related to ‘KNSQ’ in a certain way based on the English alphabetical order. In the same way, ‘DGHF’ is related to ‘BEJH’. To which of the following is ‘EINW’ related, following the same logic?

  3. Select the triad in which the numbers are related in the same way as are the numbers of the given triads.

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    (11, 1, 10)

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  4. In a certain code language, ‘BIRD’ is written as ‘DKTF’ and ‘KITE’ is written as ‘MKVG’. How will ‘EAGLE’ be written in that language?

  5. Family C has a total monthly income of Rs. 26,000 which includes a pension of Rs. 3,000 earned by th widowed gandmother. The married couple has one 3-year-old son. The family has no members who have a criminal case, they do not own a residential property and they have not received any other subsidy. They are living in a rented house for the past 6 years.

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