Professional recommendations: disclosing facts and values

Area of Science:

• Medical Ethics
• Clinical Communication
• Patient Decision-Making

Background:

• Patients frequently seek physician advice for difficult medical decisions.
• Common questions include "What should I do?" and "What would you do?"

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze the nuances of physician advice-seeking questions.
• To propose a framework for responding to these questions.

Main Methods:

• Conceptual analysis of physician advice-seeking questions.
• Development of a heuristic framework for physician responses.

Main Results:

• "What should I do?" and "What would you do?" are not objective factual inquiries.
• Responses necessitate understanding, appreciating, and disclosing personal context and values.

Conclusions:

• Physicians must consider personal values when advising patients.
• A framework using "If I were you.../If it were me..." can guide responses.