Advance Directives have a very important role in health care as they set the legal and ethical principles for the assignation and attribution of personal responsibility to a trusted person that can make better decisions when the subscriber is unable to make them. These legal instruments are recognized by the authorities but they have to be prepared according to the current legislation and therefore the assistance of a lawyer that specializes in Advance Directives is the best way to make sure that the instrument complies with the regulations and is recognized by the authorities (Jones, Moss & Harris-Kojetin, 2011). Documents like the Living Will and the Durable Power of Attorney are part of a responsible approach to the health management of …show more content…
With these documents, a person that is trusted can claim legal authority to make decisions, protected by the fact that the subscriber had complete awareness and clear use of his mind at the moment of the generation of such documents. Ill people that have terminal disease or degenerative conditions that will undermine their judgment can be relieved, knowing that despite the deterioration of their physical or mental state, someone that is trusted will be able to take the most compassionate and wise decisions. With Advance Directives, relatives or individuals close to the subscriber can decide the way a terminal condition will be treated; the document even gives the power to remove life support systems in case that the assigned individual considers that that is the wisest decision. The Advance Directives also protect legally the caregivers so that even if there is a negative outcome as a result of the wrong management of the health care decision there won’t be legal consequences. A Living Will is not only convenient for individuals that know for certain that their judgment and reason will be impaired in the near
Once I explained exactly what a living will is because some were unaware they were very comfortable with the idea of filling out a living will. The responses that I got all varied to different degrees. My brother stated that he did not yet have a living will but that they are very important to have and everyone should get one. He said that his wishes would be to pretty much “pull the plug in every circumstance”. He absolutely did not want to be put on life support, be artificially supplied with food, or get life sustaining drugs, machines, or other medical procedures. My mother had wishes the same as I would have which is to consider the circumstances and give me a month to evaluate if I have the possibility of making a full recovery. If there is no hope of having a full recovery then I want all life sustaining measures to be stopped because I don’t in any way want to be a burden on
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.
Prior to discussing why Advanced Directives are so essential the definition of Advanced Directives is crucial. An Advanced Directive is made up of several legal components which ultimately online the patient’s wishes if one was to be incapacitated or unable to verbally make wishes know regarding healthcare. The understanding of what a living will and a durable power of attorney both need to be discussed before one is able to compare and contrast. A living will ensures that anyone reading this paper will understand how the patient wanted to continue their form of treatment. With a living will anyone ranging from patients to healthcare professions should be able to determine the specific actions the patients would want taken if they are unable to make said wishes known. A
The end of life is inevitable. For most it is for seen and understood what ones final wishes are. Living wills provide those issues in question with answers. What if an individual does not have a living will? Who would be in charge in making final decisions for someone who cannot physically make those decisions? The story of Terri Schiavo brings about many questions that represents moral, ethical, and legal issues.
Hospice focuses on end of life care. When patients are facing terminal illness and have an expected life sentence of days to six months or less of life. Care can take place in different milieu including at home, hospice care center, hospital, and skilled nursing facility. Hospice provides patients and family the tool and resources of how to come to the acceptance of death. The goal of care is to help people who are dying have peace, comfort, and dignity. A team of health care providers and volunteers are responsible for providing care. A primary care doctor and a hospice doctor or medical director will patients care. The patient is allowed to decide who their primary doctor will be while receiving hospice care. It may be a primary care physician or a hospice physician. Nurses provide care at home by vising patient at home or in a hospital setting facility. Nurses are responsible for coordination of the hospice care team. Home health aides provide support for daily and routine care ( dressing, bathing, eating and etc). Spiritual counselors, Chaplains, priests, lay ministers or other spiritual counselors can provide spiritual care and guidance for the entire family. Social workers provide counseling and support. They can also provide referrals to other support systems. Pharmacists provide medication oversight and suggestions regarding the most effective
Two examples of Advance Care Directives, which are living wills that allow a person to document end of life medical treatment, are the FiveWishes and MyDirectives in the United States. The FiveWishes directive is described as living with a heart and soul and follows five wishes. These wishes include: the person which will make decisions regarding the patient’s health when the patient is not able to, the kind of medical treatment wanted and not wanted, the level of comfortability of the patient, how the patient is treated, and the amount of information that the patient’s loved ones know. The MyDirec...
A health care directive is a legal document, based on personal values and beliefs, providing people with a sense of control and independence for their medical care. The purpose of a health care directive is to allow personal wishes on various treatments options to be met, when the individual is presented incapable. Since it is a legal document, health care professionals and family members have to abide with individual’s health care directive. Personally I value autonomy, independence, family, dignity, and selflessness. These core personal values allow me to reflect, fully comprehend and accept the consequences to the health care decisions I make for myself. In conclusion, the sections of the health care directive
One of the greatest dangers facing chronic and terminally ill patients is the grey area regarding PAS. In the Netherlands, there are strict criteria for the practice of PAS. Despite such stringencies, the Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs (1992) found 28% of the PAS cases in the Netherlands did not meet the criteria. The evidence suggests some of the patient’s lives may have ended prematurely or involuntarily. This problem can be addressed via advance directives. These directives would be written by competent individuals explaining their decision to be aided in dying when they are no longer capable of making medical decisions. These interpretations are largely defined by ones morals, understanding of ethics, individual attitudes, religious and cultural values.
When it comes to completing an Advance Directive, many factors affect the decision-making process. It can be assumed that ultimately, it is the responsibility of the individual. However the influence of friends, family members, and the health care team are very important in that process as well. Although individual factors, such as gender, culture, and level of education, are evidently huge contributing factors in the percentage of those who have completed or are more likely to have completed an Advanced Directive, I believe awareness and effectiveness of Advance Directives impact an individual’s view of whether they would complete an Advance Directive. In conclusion, despite all of these factors, I believe that Advance Directives
The end-of-life nurse’s primary objective is to provide comfort and compassion to patients and their families during an extremely difficult time. They must satisfy all “physical, psychological, social, cultural and spiritual needs” of the patient and their family. (Wu & Volker, 2012) The nurse involves their patient in care planning, as well as educating them about the options available. They must follow the wishes of the patient and their family, as provided in the patient’s advance directive if there is one available. It is i...
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.
The care of patients at the end of their live should be as humane and respectful to help them cope with the accompanying prognosis of the end of their lives. The reality of this situation is that all too often, the care a patient receives at the end of their life is quite different and generally not performed well. The healthcare system of the United States does not perform well within the scope of providing the patient with by all means a distress and pain free palliative or hospice care plan. To often patients do not have a specific plan implemented on how they wish to have their end of life care carried out for them. End of life decisions are frequently left to the decision of family member's or physicians who may not know what the patient needs are beforehand or is not acting in the patient's best wishes. This places the unenviable task of choosing care for the patient instead of the patient having a carefully written out plan on how to carry out their final days. A strategy that can improve the rate of care that patients receive and improve the healthcare system in general would be to have the patient create a end of life care plan with their primary care physician one to two years prior to when the physician feels that the patient is near the end of their life. This would put the decision making power on the patient and it would improve the quality of care the patient receives when they are at the end of their life. By developing a specific care plan, the patient would be in control of their wishes on how they would like their care to be handled when the time of death nears. We can identify strengths and weakness with this strategy and implement changes to the strategy to improve the overall system of care with...
While I do not have a terminal illness, I have a chronic illness and with all illnesses come complications. Many of these complications are solved through quick emergency room visits or an adjustment to my medications, but I am aware that it could be much worse. It is very important that I write up a living will so that if there was a major complication with my illness and I was unable to make medical decisions for myself in the moment, my wishes would still be known and carried through. I am very adamant that I do not stay on life support machines if there was not a chance that I survive without them. I also am very adamant that my family should not have to make the decision whether or not I stay on life support. I’ve seen too many people I know go through having to make that decision for their loved ones to wish that on mine. So instead, I will take that burden off of them and decide now while I still am able to express my
Cheating on your spouse can cause a lot of problems that can be resisted. One way is to talk with your partner and have an understanding. Another way is to just be faithful. What is so wrong with doing the person you really “love” right? If you do not really love them break up with them. Also cheating on your partner may cause you to contract an STD. The reason people say that is because you never know what the person you’re having sex with is doing behind your back. They can trick you any minute. STD’s is something you do not want to play with either. Once you contract it, it ain't no looking back. Cheating is the same as lying and flirting, there are plenty of ways that people can cheat even when some think they are not cheating.Talking
It is hard to let someone that is close to us die, but we need to look beyond the fact that you will miss them. You need to think about what is best for the patient and if they are terminal; prolonging their life is not the best thing. It is important to prepare for our own death and make our wishes known. A living will is one way of doing that. A living will is a document explains to your doctor what types of treatment you want if you become terminally ill. A living will only works when you are terminal, it does not come into effect if you are in an accident and need emergency treatment. Some people may feel that a living will is not for them, when in fact everyone should have a living will. Most people assume that a living will means that they are refusing treatment, which is not true. A living will just explains your wishes.