A 55-Year-Old Woman with Advanced Metastatic Breast Cancer Comes to the Emergency

A 55-year-old woman with advanced metastatic breast cancer comes to the emergency department for evaluation of dyspnea and tachycardia.  The resident evaluates the patient and orders an echocardiogram, which confirms the presence of a pericardial effusion.  The surgery team is consulted, and the surgical attending informs the patient that a pericardiocentesis is necessary.  The attending surgeon then receives an urgent page and asks the resident to obtain informed consent for the procedure.  The surgery resident has neither observed nor performed a pericardiocentesis but has recently read an article about malignant pericardial effusions.  Which of the following is the most appropriate course of action by the resident?

A) Ask an attending in the emergency department to assist with the informed consent discussion
B) Ask the attending surgeon to obtain informed consent for the procedure
C) Give the patient time to carefully read the consent form and return with a witness to obtain her signature
D) Obtain the patient's signature and assure her the surgeon can answer questions before the procedure
E) Research the procedure thoroughly and then obtain informed consent for the procedure

Correct Answer:

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