Medical students’ view about deceiving patients with dementia

Dementia is set to become one of the major challenges of the next 50 years, in both the developed and developing world. In a 2014 paper in Aging and Mental health [Aging & Mental Health, 2014 http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13607863.2014.967173] students expressed uncertainty as to their ability to make judgments about honest communication with patients with dementia and their families. In this very interesting qualitative study, the researchers found that whilst students recognised the importance of the autonomy of each individual with dementia, they expressed difficulties with determining an individual’s‘best interests’ in isolation. Students commented on the apparent mismatch between rule based ethical ideals, as promoted in formal documents about professionalism, and the complexities that they had seen in practice. They expressed anxiety about their own ability to interpret professional guidelines and act in the best interests of individual patients at all times. This is a great paper for both researchers and as a teaching tool.