Joe, a Five-Year-Old Patient at Your Pediatric Practice, Has Recently

Multiple Choice

Joe, a five-year-old patient at your pediatric practice, has recently been coming in consistently bruised, looking malnourished, and too frightened to talk about what has been happening to him. You suspect child abuse; however, when you question the mother of the boy, she claims that Joe is just very accident-prone and has never been a big eater, but there is really nothing else wrong. What should you do?

A) Report it as suspected child abuse to the physician, and report it to the authorities together.
B) Do not report it, because the parents of the child might later sue you for slander.
C) Make a note of it in Joe's medical records, but acknowledge that you are powerless until Joe comes to you for help.
D) Call the police immediately.
E) None of these