Dr. Benkelman's Dilemma Summary

Dr. Benkelman did his oral and maxillofacial surgery training in 1969 after graduated from the University of Missouri at Kansas City School of Dentistry in 1966. Later when he joined the Air Force, he got a better sense of idea that he wanted to practice in the country and so he settled in Manhattan, Kansas in 1971. As an oral surgeon, he choose to practice in a small community and become part of many community activities while putting his family first. During his practices, Dr. Benkelman would directly handle discrepancies when he disagreed with the referring practitioner’ judgments. In complex cases, Dr. Benkelman would go speaks to his colleague, Dr. Lyle, in person to work out the disagreements. Other times he would inform the patient of his difference of opinion and then call the practitioner. Nonetheless, Dr. Benkelman was described by his patient and friends, Nancy Habluetzel and LeRoy Johnston, as a humble, kind, and honest man who respect everyone regardless of their status. …show more content…
Benkelman’s direct approaches when dealing with conflicts with other practitioners is quite assertive and I questioned if it was the ethical thing to do. However, afterwards I feel that I do agree with his decision that it was the right thing to do for the patients’ best interest. In this situation I should have realized that it is the dentist’s responsible to provide the patient with all the options so he or she can decide what will work best for him or her. I remembered thinking that Dr. Benkelman must really care a lot for his patients for him to willing to annoy the other practitioner in personally to work thing