title: Consent: what is the role of health care workers?
abstract: This article considers legal and ethical aspects of consent, as well as the need for consent to be a communication process that informs patients about procedures. Recent examinations of the use of agents (such as nurses and allied health professionals) in securing consent are discussed. While there is a clear role for nonphysician health care workers in advocating for the patient and assuring that consent has been secured; their actual role in securing consent in the absence of a physician is less clear.
authors.affiliation: Radiography Program, University of Alabama at Birmingham, USA.
authors.forename: S B
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Dowd
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Davidhizar
mesh_terms: D000488:Allied Health Personnel; D003142:Communication; D004995:Ethics, Professional; D006801:Humans; D007258:Informed Consent / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D009726:Nurses; D010358:Patient Participation; D011369:Professional-Patient Relations; D014481:United States