Real-Life Decision Making -- Solution
You advise the doctor to change the diabetic patient's diet.
The up-and-down blood sugar levels this patient is experiencing are dangerous
and you're in the business of health. After all, it's your job to ensure this
patient gets the diet best suited to him.
You tactfully explain to the doctor why you think changes in diet will
help even out the patient's blood sugar levels. He hasn't been able to stabilize
them with insulin, so the doctor agrees to the dietary changes you've suggested.
Within three days, the patient's blood sugar levels are nearly normal. This
doctor thanks you and begins to ask for your input on other patients.
This is the real-life decision that dietitian Daniel Tisi would make.
"That's like a standard interview question, actually," says Tisi. "What
do you do if someone on the team disagrees?" Even though you expect skepticism
or opposition from the doctor, you should give your recommendation. Your job
is to give the best nutrition advice you can. But at the end of the day, you
have to accept that the doctor has the final say.
"It really depends on the situation," says Tisi, "but if it's
a doctor or someone in that position of power, as a dietitian you are a little
bit lower on the totem pole, so you have to kind of respect that and just
give your recommendations. You can agree to disagree."