Dealing with end-of-life planning and problems is something we wish to never do but its occurrence is inevitable. Our human mortality causes us to live a life approaching death. Therefore, it is important to have a plan set incase one gets diagnosed with a life-threatening illness or if one will eventually become incapacitated. Being incapacitated means the person is no longer able to make rational medical decisions about his or her health due to a physical or mental change. (1) An example of a person becoming incapacitated is if he or she were to go into a vegetative state of develop early-onset Alzheimer’s’ disease. Many people have a will set in place that contains their desires of how to proceed with medical treatment. Through these wills, the person can indicate which facility they wish to be placed in in case they become incapacitated and cannot make the decision for themselves. There are search engines provided by the state government that allows the person to search a variety of facilities. The facilities include Home Health Agencies, Hospices, Companion services, and Nurse registries. (2) If there isn’t a will in place, then the state will need to take certain steps to determine what the patient would have wanted.
The following are the revised policy steps the state will need to take in the absence of a will. The first thing the state will need to do is try to locate any other advance directives. An advance directive is a written or oral statement about how one wants medical decisions made should he or she not be able to express his or her wish. (1) The types of advance directives are living wills, health care surrogate designations, and anatomical donations. If this individual has a health care surrogate designation, t...
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...owing assisted suicide. The only exception of allowed assisted suicide for an incapacitated individual, who is not terminally ill, is if he or she is in a permanent vegetative state. In this case, the patient’s relative will have to appear in front of a health council to prove why this is the best decision to be made and why their family member would choose to die if allowed to make the decision. Neurologists will need to examine the patient to see if the person is in fact in a permanent vegetative state. These will be the steps, procedures, and policies needed to be followed throughout my term as your Surgeon General. Any questions or specific cases will be addressed after reinforcing said policies.
Works Cited
1. http://www.floridahealthfinder.gov/reports-guides/advance-directives.aspx
2. http://www.floridahealthfinder.gov/facilitylocator/FacilitySearch.aspx
The discussion of physician-assisted suicide is frequently focused around the ethical implications. The confusion commonly surfaces from the simple question, what is physician-assisted suicide? Physician-assisted suicide can be defined as a circumstance in which a medical physician provides a lethal dose of medication to a patient with a fatal illness. In this case, the patient has given consent, as well as direction, to the physician to ethically aid in their death (Introduction to Physician-Assisted Suicide: At Issue,
Wiener, Lori, Elizabeth Ballard, Tara Brennan, Haven Battles, Pedro Martinez, and Maryland Pao. 2008. "How I wish to be remembered: the use of an advance care planning document in adolescent and young adult populations." Journal Of Palliative Medicine 11, no. 10: 1309-1313. MEDLINE with Full Text, EBSCOhost (accessed May 26, 2014).
As we get older and delve into the real world, it is important to start thinking about end-of-life care and advance directives. Although it is something no one wants to imagine, there is an absolute necessity for living wills and a power of attorney. Learning about the Patient Self-Determination Act and the different legal basis in where you live is important because it will help people understand why advance care directives are so important. Although there are several barriers in implementing advance care directives, there are also several actions that healthcare professionals can take to overcome these obstacles. These are also important to know about, especially for someone going into the medical field.
The first journal article is about advance care planning (ACP) in palliative care. This is of interest due to several clinical experiences and the realization that many families either ignore the patient’s request for end of life (EOL) care or who have no idea of how to plan for EOL care. By reading the research and understanding the methods used, this will allow for insight into how to implement palliative care into clinical practice across different sites. The authors of this original research are Jeanine Blackford PhD, RN, senior lecturer at La Trobe University in Australia, and Annette Street PhD, associate dean of research and professor of cancer and palliative care studies. According to Blackford & Street (2011), this research is important as there are many countries that “report a low percentage of people who have completed an advance care plan” (p. 2022), and ACP is needed upon admission to facilities that offer palliative care. In addition, the purpose of the study is to try and obtain guidance to integrate an ACP model into routine clinical practice in the community. The research question chosen for the analysis of this article is: Is it feasible to implement ACP into routine practice and documentation at multi-site locations in...
End-of-life care in the United States is often fraught with difficult decisions and borne with great expense. Americans are often uncomfortable discussing death and
The right-to-die is defined as expressing or advocating for the right to refuse extraordinary measures intended to prolong someone’s life when they are terminally ill or comatose. Generally people who use right-to-die laws do not do it because of the pain or financial reasons, but because they are worried about becoming a burden, or losing their autonomy. If a person exercises their right-to-die they already have their wills or property sorted out, but if that is not the case there are many places to help people sort out their wishes as well as property. “Medical professionals often encourage people to make a living will or advanced directives which is a document that lets individuals state their wishes for end of life care, in the case they become unable to communicate their decisions.”(Mayo Clinic, 2015). Living wills are more prominent now than they were before; with all the medical advances now people can live for years, even though they might not have wanted to, because the doctor was unaware of the patient 's wishes. In the past, when life threatening symptoms from accidents or
In What Dying People Want, Kuhl comments, "Dying involves choice"(xviii). People choose what they wear, what they do, and what they will eat on a day to day basis. Choosing how, when, or why sick people die is just like an everyday decision for them. This however, has not been accomplished by some individuals in this Country. Americans have the right of choice. When a patient communicates the desire to die, the inspection of acceptability for palliative care begins instantly. Inspections include evaluation of pain management, depression, anxiety, family burnout, spirituality and other observed issues (Baird and Rosenbaum 100). When working or living with an elder, never ignore the words "I want to die". If this is ignored, that person will not receive their wishes they deserve. Countries are starting to understand that people should be able to die if they choose, "In the United States there are assisted dying laws restricted to terminally ill and mentally competent adults" (Firth). The assisted dying law is only in Oregon, Montana, Washington, Vermont, and California. That is five states out of fifty states. This must be expanded to all fifty states because all individuals have the right of this law. In 2013, Vermont passed an "End of Life Choices" bill. This bill allows terminally ill people to get
While navigating the abundant and sometimes confusing legal language of advance directives can be time consuming, it would benefit every person to consider their end of life wishes and have some form of written statement available for their doctor and family to understand those wishes. Doing this in advance can prevent emotional anguish, suffering and expensive litigation. In the end, clearly and when possible, written, documentation of a medical directive, a living will, or a chosen health care power of attorney will lessen the burden for the medical professionals and family of a dying or incapacitated person.
As patients come closer to the end of their lives, certain organs stop performing as well as they use to. People are unable to do simple tasks like putting on clothes, going to the restroom without assistance, eat on our own, and sometimes even breathe without the help of a machine. Needing to depend on someone for everything suddenly brings feelings of helplessness much like an infant feels. It is easy to see why some patients with terminal illnesses would seek any type of relief from this hardship, even if that relief is suicide. Euthanasia or assisted suicide is where a physician would give a patient an aid in dying. “Assisted suicide is a controversial medical and ethical issue based on the question of whether, in certain situations, Medical practioners should be allowed to help patients actively determine the time and circumstances of their death” (Lee). “Arguments for and against assisted suicide (sometimes called the “right to die” debate) are complicated by the fact that they come from very many different points of view: medical issues, ethical issues, legal issues, religious issues, and social issues all play a part in shaping people’s opinions on the subject” (Lee). Euthanasia should not be legalized because it is considered murder, it goes against physicians’ Hippocratic Oath, violates the Controlled
The right to assisted suicide is a significant topic that concerns people all over the United States. The debates go back and forth about whether a dying patient has the right to die with the assistance of a physician. Some are against it because of religious and moral reasons. Others are for it because of their compassion and respect for the dying. Physicians are also divided on the issue. They differ where they place the line that separates relief from dying--and killing. For many the main concern with assisted suicide lies with the competence of the terminally ill. Many terminally ill patients who are in the final stages of their lives have requested doctors to aid them in exercising active euthanasia. It is sad to realize that these people are in great agony and that to them the only hope of bringing that agony to a halt is through assisted suicide.When people see the word euthanasia, they see the meaning of the word in two different lights. Euthanasia for some carries a negative connotation; it is the same as murder. For others, however, euthanasia is the act of putting someone to death painlessly, or allowing a person suffering from an incurable and painful disease or condition to die by withholding extreme medical measures. But after studying both sides of the issue, a compassionate individual must conclude that competent terminal patients should be given the right to assisted suicide in order to end their suffering, reduce the damaging financial effects of hospital care on their families, and preserve the individual right of people to determine their own fate.
THOMAS, K. and LOBO, B., 2011. Advance care planning in end of life care. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Take for instance the case of Matthew Donnelly. Mr. Donnelly’s body was riddled with skin cancer from years of working with X-rays. Mr. Donnelly had been in a declining state of health for years and he wanted to be alleviated of this pain. He had lost his nose, his left hand, two fingers on his right hand and part of his jaw. Since his state had no rules for assist...
In my state of Maryland your living will states your wishes for future life sustaining treatment issues. It pertains to three situations: When death from terminal conditions is imminent despite the application of life-sustaining procedures; a condition of permanent unconsciousness; and endstage condition, which is advanced progressive and incurable. While I am not sure at this time that I would give power of attorney to it would defiantly be my brother of my significant other. If I meet any of the conditions listed in the Maryland advanced directive I would not want to keep on life support. If I would have no quality of life left I think it is best to end it there. While my opinion may change, as I get older it is certainly how I fell now. My family has always been rather open about things like this and I know my fathers wishes, I haven’t had any real trouble discussion these topics with them. I would certainly prepare a living will so that my wishes are held when I am not able to state them my
Should a patient have the right to ask for a physician’s help to end his or her life? This question has raised great controversy for many years. The legalization of physician assisted suicide or active euthanasia is a complex issue and both sides have strong arguments. Supporters of active euthanasia often argue that active euthanasia is a good death, painless, quick, and ultimately is the patient’s choice. While it is understandable, though heart-rending, why a patient that is in severe pain and suffering that is incurable would choose euthanasia, it still does not outweigh the potential negative effects that the legalization of euthanasia may have. Active euthanasia should not be legalized because
...letting go and to fight back. Whether against aging or illness, the idea of fighting disease at all costs literally costs the United States billions of dollars along with stressors to family members. Witnessing it first hand through Pappap, our family changed as a whole and we just finished paying the hospital bills – two years later. Although the idea may scare some people, the push or obligation of living wills has the opportunity to significantly affect the paradigm of our death denial culture. With this document established, each person in society for at least several minutes will acknowledge the fact that one day they will die. The timing will never be guaranteed, but death will. Advanced directives can possibly save financial burden and family stress in today’s culture of life. It will eliminate anxiety from proxies and prepare each person for their own death.