Upon com pletion of th ese vignettes, the p articipants will acquire skills to (1) ethically respond to a com petent and inform ed patient who refuses treatment, (2) respectfully acknowledge a patient’s self determ ination, (3) respect a patient’s authority, (4) recognize medical interventions that would be unacceptable withou t consent of a competent patient, and (5) diplomatically persuade patients to accept beneficial interventions while respecting the right to refuse. 

CME and CEU Available - This ethics vignette discusses scope of refusal, legal issues and practical suggestions relating to refusal of treatment based on the Guidelines for Ethical Behavior Relating to Clinical Practice Issues in Neuromuscular and Electrodiagnostic Medicine (Muscle and Nerve 2022). Following the vignette are additional references and a discussion as to how the guidelines can be applied to these various clinical and ethical dilemmas


ACCREDITATION STATEMENT
The AANEM is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

CREDIT DESIGNATION
The AANEM designates this enduring material for a maximum of 1.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits ^TM. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity. Credit expires 11/09/2025.

DISCLOSURE INFORMATION
No one involved in the planning of this CME activity had any relevant financial relationships to disclose. Authors/Faculty had nothing to disclose.

FORMAT: PDF

Naomi A. Abel, MD
Raghav Govindarajan, MD
Carla Grosmann, MD
Lara Katzin, MD
Suzanne D. King
Jerry Morris, CNCT, MS, R.NCS.T. John P. Ney, MD
Samuel D. Nortman, MD*
James F. Selph, MD*
Dan Y. Shamir, MD
David A. Simpson, DO, MS, Chair
Mervat N. Wahba, MD