In the case of a 17-year-old client requiring an emergency appendectomy, which action is appropriate for informed consent?

Informed consent in medical situations involving minors can be complex due to legal and ethical considerations. For a 17-year-old client who requires an emergency appendectomy, it is important to understand the legal framework regarding consent for medical treatments.

Obtaining verbal consent from the client while waiting for the parents is appropriate in this scenario because many jurisdictions allow mature minors—typically defined as individuals aged 16 and older—to provide consent for their own medical care, especially in emergency situations. When the situation is urgent, as with an appendectomy, delaying the procedure for parental consent could put the patient at risk. Therefore, seeking the teenager’s consent, given their age and ability to understand the implications of the procedure, aligns with the principles of autonomy and timely medical intervention.

In this context, options that involve delaying care for parental consent or having siblings provide consent are not suitable as they do not adhere to the established guidelines for situations involving mature minors. Witnessing a parental signature may be necessary once the parents arrive, but it does not address the immediate need for consent to proceed with urgent medical treatment.