What boundaries, if any, would you put in place if you lived in an area overflowing with "need" where assertive homeless people and beggars lined your street, disabled people in need of help were everywhere, neighbors traded sex for drugs, dealt drugs, made poor choices, and many of these people had kids?
I'm sure I'm not the only one on here with a background* and mind capable of helping many of these people. Of course, any of them could turn up in my Emergency Department any day providing perhaps a conflict of interest**. (Presently, my main interests are emergency medicine, neurology, and psychiatry.)
What kind of boundaries, if any, do YOU think should be in place? Where would you draw lines in this situation?
*I grew up around crime, poverty, etc. and quite competent in handling many situations that result from the above scenarios. A lot of time, people - adults, kids, and teenagers - just need an intelligent, non-drugged, non-overstressed, mind to help them sort out their problems.
**I'm not 100% clear about what these conflicts of interest or boundary problems could be. I could use help identifying them. I suspect that if you know a patient (including psychiatric patients who know where you live), you could request that another doctor take over for you?
I'm sure I'm not the only one on here with a background* and mind capable of helping many of these people. Of course, any of them could turn up in my Emergency Department any day providing perhaps a conflict of interest**. (Presently, my main interests are emergency medicine, neurology, and psychiatry.)
What kind of boundaries, if any, do YOU think should be in place? Where would you draw lines in this situation?
*I grew up around crime, poverty, etc. and quite competent in handling many situations that result from the above scenarios. A lot of time, people - adults, kids, and teenagers - just need an intelligent, non-drugged, non-overstressed, mind to help them sort out their problems.
**I'm not 100% clear about what these conflicts of interest or boundary problems could be. I could use help identifying them. I suspect that if you know a patient (including psychiatric patients who know where you live), you could request that another doctor take over for you?
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