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    8. Take care of a minor task you've been putting off, then tell us about it here.

      Ask (survey)
      This is sort of a "backlog post" but for real-life: take care of something small that, for whatever reason, you've left unaddressed for too long. Maybe it's something that keeps ending up on your...

      This is sort of a "backlog post" but for real-life: take care of something small that, for whatever reason, you've left unaddressed for too long.

      Maybe it's something that keeps ending up on your to-do list but never gets resolved. Maybe your desk is cluttered. Maybe you haven't vacuumed your carpet in a while. Maybe your fridge could use a cleanout. It doesn't have to be cleaning themed, but that's what's coming to mind for me right now, so you can probably guess what mine will be.

      Whatever it is, take a few minutes to resolve the issue, then tell us about it here.

      • What was the issue?
      • Why do you think it kept getting put off?
      • How do you feel now that it's done?
      17 votes

    50. Inside the Ethics Committee

      Text 305 words
      Inside the Ethics Committee is a BBC Radio 4 programme. They describe it like this: Joan Bakewell is joined by a panel of experts to wrestle with the ethics arising from a real-life medical case....

      Inside the Ethics Committee is a BBC Radio 4 programme. They describe it like this:

      Joan Bakewell is joined by a panel of experts to wrestle with the ethics arising from a real-life medical case.

      Each episode is chaired by Bakewell, with a range of different experts (who all sit on hospital ethics committees), talking about the ethical difficulties faced by healthcare professionals (and the organisations they work for) in different real life cases.

      Some of it hasn't aged very well - there's an episode about HIV testing an unconscious patient after a needle-stick injury. With advances in treatment and reductions in stigma I think would have made it a very different programme today.

      But most of it is pretty good, and explains in detail how some decisions are made.

      For example: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0643x61

      Ashley is 14 years old when doctors discover a brain tumour. Tests reveal that it's highly treatable; there's a 95% chance of cure if he has a course of radiotherapy.

      Ashley begins the treatment but he has to wear a mask which makes him very anxious and the radiotherapy itself makes him sick. He finds it increasingly difficult to bear and he starts to miss his sessions.

      Despite patchy treatment Ashley's cancer goes into remission. He and his mother are thrilled but a routine follow-up scan a few months later shows that the cancer has returned.

      Ashley is adamant that he will not have the chemotherapy that is recommended this time. He threatens that he will run away if treatment is forced on him. Although Ashley is only 15 he is 6'2" and restraining him would not be easy.

      Should the medical team and his mother persuade him to have the chemotherapy? Or should they accept his decision, even though he is only 15?

      5 votes