A Doctor Sees a Patient Who Is Asking for a Prescription

question 56

Essay

A doctor sees a patient who is asking for a prescription for pain killers. The patient explains that they used to cope with the pain by drinking three beers each evening but that they don't notice the same euphoric feeling anymore. The doctor can smell alcohol on the patient's breath and suspects that the patient often abuses alcohol. The doctor refuses to give the patient a prescription for pain killers. What can the doctor say to explain why the patient does not feel an effect after consuming 3 beers any longer. Is the doctor's decision to refuse pain killers correct? Explain why or why not. Include information on how alcohol is metabolized in your response.

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Definitions:

Socialist capitalism

A mixed economic system that incorporates elements of both socialism and capitalism, often featuring private enterprise alongside significant government regulation and social welfare policies.

State/welfare capitalism

An economic system where the state undertakes commercial (i.e., for-profit) economic activity and where the welfare policies protect and benefit the economic and social well-being of the population.

Conflict theorists

Sociologists who focus on the power differentials and struggles between various social classes, often analyzing the causes and consequences of conflict in society.

Proletariat

A term used in Marxist theory to describe the class of workers who do not own the means of production and must sell their labor to survive.