The Gerontologist
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

This Article
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Kaufman, S. R.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Kaufman, S. R.

The Gerontologist, Vol 35, Issue 4 481-488, Copyright © 1995 by The Gerontological Society of America

ARTICLES

Decision making, responsibility, and advocacy in geriatric medicine: physician dilemmas with elderly in the community

SR Kaufman
Institute for Health and Aging, University of California, San Francisco 94143-0612, USA.

This descriptive anthropological study explores the nature of physician decision making in the case of old people who reside in the community. Focusing on physician narratives of actual dilemmas, this article contributes toward a phenomenology of clinical medicine and provides examples of how decisions in geriatrics are influenced by professional values, institutional constraints, and cultural forms. In-depth interviews with 40 physicians revealed dilemmas to have three sources: (1) unresolved questions about how much to intervene in patients' lives to reduce risk; (2) structural, moral, and medical limits to patient advocacy; and (3) the problem of assessing vulnerability and quality of life when pondering placement.


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Br J Soc WorkHome page
B. J. Taylor, M. Dempster, and M. Donnelly
Grading Gems: Appraising the Quality of Research for Social Work and Social Care
Br. J. Soc. Work, February 1, 2007; 37(2): 335 - 354.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 GerontologistHome page
P. G. Clark
Values and Voices in Teaching Gerontology and Geriatrics: Case Studies as Stories
Gerontologist, June 1, 2002; 42(3): 297 - 303.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 J. Gerontol. B Psychol. Sci. Soc. Sci.Home page
G. Becker
Dying Away From Home: Quandaries of Migration for Elders in Two Ethnic Groups
J. Gerontol. B. Psychol. Sci. Soc. Sci., March 1, 2002; 57(2): S79 - 95.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
All GSA journals Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences
Copyright © 1995 by The Gerontological Society of America.