What is Considered “Life Support”?
“The concept of life support is somewhat overblown because it never cures; it merely permits modulation of disease course so that other inventions have time to affect an actual cure” – Laura Hawryluck (Crippen 2). Life support, an extremely controversial topic, is a form of medical treatment designed to “support” an individual’s body incapable of performing simple basic functions without aid. These tasks include swallowing and breathing, as well as other bodily functions enabling us to sustain our life (“Health Library” 1). What many people are unaware of is just how exhaustive, and potentially brutal, a process life support can be. Despite its potential to sustain an individual’s life, life support should not be permitted for use because it interferes with the quality of life, it is unethical, it is financially and emotionally draining, and it provides its patients with discomfort
Those susceptible to being put on life support include “brain dead” and “vegetative” persons. The term “brain dead” is used for individuals who lack activity within the brain, thus why some functions (i.e. swallowing and breathing) are incapable of being performed. However those in a “vegetative” state may be able to perform these tasks, despite being severely, mentally crippled (Doyle 1).
In addition, those potentially nearing the end of their life may be asked a DNR, or “Do Not Resuscitate,” Order. This states that in a life-threatening emergency where one is facing possible death, no actions shall be done try and “resuscitate” the individual in an attempt to restore life to the person. However, if a DNR Order is not filled out, actions including CPR, or cardiopulmonary resuscitation, mechanical ventilation, h...
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...ife support are said to be more comfortable than those who are on life support (“Heath Library” 2).
All in all, the pros of life support are far outweighed by the cons. A sustained life may sound positive; however, when a patient is on life support, the sustained life is consumed in discomfort and the quality of it is belittled. Ethicists alike are appalled that an officially classified deceased individual may further be inappropriately tested on, and the costs underwent by both the patient(s) and close friends and family alone during the duration of the treatment surely would discourage anyone from attempting to put a loved one, or be put on by a loved one, any form of medical treatment used for life support. After looking at the entirety of life support and what it is and is not capable of, ask yourself one question. “When is life support really “life support”?
The boundaries of right to die with dignity are hard to determine. Keeping the terminal patient comfortable is the purpose of comfort care, however there could be a very thin line between what we consider terminal sedation and euthanasia. In theory, comfort care is quite different from euthanasia. Keeping the patient comfortable and letting the nature take its course is at the core of comfort measures (Gamliel, 2012). Yet, the line between keeping comfortable and facilitating death is often blurry. Euthanasia refers to the practice of intentionally ending a life in order to relieve pain and suffering (Gamliel, 2012). The purpose of this paper is to highlight the ethical issue of keeping comfortable vs. hastening death, and the ethical principles involved. Facilitating or hastening death is considered unethical or even illegal.
This can be seen in the case study as ethical and legal arise in resuscitation settings, as every situation will have its differences it is essential that the paramedic has knowledge in the areas of health ethics and laws relating to providing health care. The laws can be interpreted differently and direction by state guidelines may be required. Paramedics face ethical decisions that they will be required to interpret themselves and act in a way that they believe is right. Obstacles arise such as families’ wishes for the patients’ outcome, communicating with the key stakeholders is imperative in making informed and good health practice decision. It could be argued that the paramedics in the case study acted in the best interest of the patient as there was no formal directive and they did not have enough information regarding the patients’ wishes in relation to the current situation. More consultation with the key stakeholders may have provided a better approach in reducing the stress and understanding of why the resuscitation was happening. Overall, ethically it could be argued that commencing resuscitation and terminating once appropriate information was available is the right thing to do for the
...o get a do not resuscitate order. That is an order that the families may sign so the hospital does not have to give effort to bring a person back to life anymore once they have stopped breathing.
The decision to be able to prolong life has been one of the most controversial topic for years now. Many people believe that life support isn’t benefiting the person just only making the person live longer and others believe that it’s a chance the patients can come off life support breathing on their own which there has been many cases where patients have awakened from life support. In this exploratory essay I will talk about the 3 article that embodied their opinion about life support. In the first article Berger position on the issue is that he is against Dying patients being kept on life support because he believes once the person is critically ill which some call it brain dead there’s no coming back from
Mohr, M., & Kettler, D. (1997). Ethical aspects of resuscitation. British Journal of Anaesthesia, 253.
Terminally ill patients deserve the right to have a dignified death. These patients should not be forced to suffer and be in agony their lasting days. The terminally ill should have this choice, because it is the only way to end their excruciating pain. These patients don’t have
Almost all the sources have indicated that there are little to no benefits of keeping a brain dead patient on ventilation. Taking a closer look into; brain dead criteria; organ donation; the cost of keeping a patient on life support and case studies on those who have been misdiagnosed it will be possible to draw an accurate conclusion on whether or not there are benefits of keeping a brain dead patient on life support.
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...
Advance directives might have many guidelines for patient’s preferences with regard to any number of life-affecting, or end of life situations, such as chronic disease or accident resulting in traumatic injury. It can include directions for other health situations, such as short-term unconsciousness, impairment by Alzheimer disease or dementia. These guidelines may consider do-not- resuscitate (DNR) orders if the heart or breathing stops, tube-feeding, or organ and tissue donation. The directive might name a specific person, or proxy, to direct care or may be very general with only basic instructions given for treatment in time of the incapacitation of a patient. Some states say that if you do not have a written directive, a spoken directive is acceptable.
As a result, life-sustaining procedures such as ventilators, feeding tubes, and treatments for infectious and terminal diseases are developing. While these life-sustaining methods have positively influenced modern medicine, they also inadvertently cause terminal patients extensive pain and suffering. Previous to the development of life-sustaining procedures, many people died in the care of their own home, however, today the majority of Americans take their last breath lying in a hospital bed. As the advancement of modern medicine continues, physicians and patients are going to encounter life-altering trials and tribulations. Arguably, the most controversial debate in modern medicine is the discussion of the ethical choice for physician-assisted suicide.
Unreceptively and unresponsively. “Even the most intensely painful stimuli evoke no vocal or other response, not even a groan, withdrawal of a limb or quickening of respiration,” (Ward 28). No movements or spontaneous breathing (being aided by a respirator does not count). Doctors must follow patients for at least one time of day to make sure they make no spontaneous muscular movements or spontaneous breathing. To try the latter, physicians are to bend off the respirator for three transactions to determine if the patient attempts to take a breather on his own (the trial).No reflexes. To look for reflexes, doctors are to shine a light in the eyes to make sure the pupils are enlarged. Muscles are tested. Ice water is poured in the ears. Doctors should use “electroencephalography, a test of great confirmatory value,”(Ward 32) to make sure that the patient has flat brain waves. After none of the criterions respond to the recipient, the doctor must “legally” declare the person brain dead. This is where family members often have difficult deciding whether they should continue having their loved one under life support. The respirator will continue to keep the persons organs alive for a certain period of time but family members must confront with a decision if they would want to donate or continue to have them
However it can also make room for medical, legal and ethical dilemmas. Advances in medical technology enable individuals to delay the inevitable fate of death, overcome cancer, diabetes, and various traumatic injuries. Our advances in medical technologies now allow these individuals to do things on their own terms. The “terminally ill” state is described as having an incurable or irreversible condition that has a high probability of causing death within a relatively short time with or without treatment (Guest, p.3, 1998). A wide range of degenerative diseases can fall into either category, ranging from, HIV/AIDS, Alzheimer’s disease and many forms of cancer. This control, however, lays assistance, whether direct or indirect, from a
If the life support was able to make up for what had happened to the person, then it would be fine, but it did not. Consequentialism,
A young girl undergoing a tonsillectomy at Children’s Hospital in Oakland, California, experienced blood loss and went into cardiac arrest. Jahi was originally declared brain-dead, and controversy arose, between the hospital and her family, whether to keep her alive on life support or to “pull the plug,” (Bender & Alund, 2016). Now in the case of Jahi, which is still ongoing today, it is said that she has shown signs of improvement (Shoichet, 2013). When diagnosed brain-dead, there usually is no hope for recovery, and in Jahi’s case, the state of California had printed a death certificate upon their determination of her status (Death Certificate, 2014). Jahi’s family believes there is still hope for their child and that she will wake up one day, and her signs of improvement may be proof to such hope. Keeping a patient alive on life support may be what the family wants, but also these instances can open opportunities for doctors to learn from these
If I was in a vegetative state with no hope of re-gaining brain function or living a cognitive life, I would want my family to take me off of life support and I believe these scores reflect that. To live my life, I would want to be as independent as possible; to a certain extent. I would not want to worry about accidents from my bowels or bladder and would like to be somewhat independent in the shower. Although I understand that some type a bathing aide might be necessary. I wouldn’t mind receiving help with grooming, dressing,