fbpx
Tag Competence
CCC Critical Care compendium 340

Capacity and Competence

Capacity and competence are terms that are often used interchangeably. Capacity is a functional term that refers to the mental or cognitive ability to understand the nature and effects of one's acts . Competence is a legal term that can be defined as being "duly qualified: having sufficient, capacity, ability or authority" — in practice it requires health professionals to perform a functional test of competence to examine the ability of the particular patient to consent to the specific treatment being offered
CCC Critical Care compendium 340

Consent and Competence in Children

A child or minor is a person who is younger than the age of majority. In Australia the age of majority is 18 years, this is the age at which citizens can exercise all the civil rights available to Australians