The subject of end of life care is one of great controversy and brings positive and negative emotions in the parties involved. Although, each case of death is different and unique. Those who are terminally ill often times decide that they want to end their life on their own time, and their own terms. In some cases this is considered to socially acceptable, while in other cases, people look at it as murder or suicide. One of the ten commandments (Exodus 20) is thou shall not kill, but does this include individuals that wish to exercise their right to die? Because this deals with people on a day to day basis, it is symbolic interactionism. Death is often a symbol of sadness, and directly affects the behavior of those involved. When considering the right to die, and the complications and emotions involved, perhaps contemplation of the following questions could assist in clarity of this complex subject. What is death and dying? What is palliative care? What is preservation of autonomy during end of life care? PAS (Physician Assisted Suicide) vs Right to die? How does ones cultural upbringing affect their opinion on end of life care? 3 What is death and dying? According to the Merriam Webster dictionary, death is referred to the permanent cessation of all vital functions: the end of life. When people are faced with the reality of their ultimate demise, they may experience depression and feel like they're a burden on their loved ones. When one decides not to choose treatment or chooses the right to die on their own terms, they are exercising their right to die. What is Palliative Care? Palliative care is essentially end of life care. It specializes in keeping the patient as comfortable as p... ... middle of paper ... ...rks Cited Coolen, P., Best, S., Lima, A., Sabel, J., & Paulozzi, L. (2009). Overdose deaths involving prescription opiods among medicaid enrollees- Washington 2004-2007 Craner, P. RN (2014). Interview Death. 2014. www.merriem-webster.com from http://www.merriem-webster.com/dictionary/death retrieved 2/11/14 Kendall, D. (2011). Sociology in our times, the essentials 8th edition Frey, W. (2011). The State of Metropolitan America, from http://www.brookings.edu/opinions/2011/1220_census_demographics.aspx Schwarz, J. (2007). Exploring the option of voluntarily stopping of eating and drinking within the context of a suffering patient's request for a hastened death. From http://web.a.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.pstcc.edu:2048/ehost/detail?vid=4&sid=6385b97a-9fde-4480-980a-4c8ed8929923%40sessionmgr4003&hid=4107&bdata=JnNjb3BlPXNpdGU%3d#db=nyh&AN=27970586 received 2/04/14
Euthanasia comes from the Greek word that means “good death” (“Euthanasia” Literary). In general, euthanasia refers to causing the death of someone to end their pain and suffering oftentimes in cases of terminal illness. Some people call this “mercy killings.”
Gawande’s book is very pertinent to the present day and has by many accounts sparked a national discussion on end-of-life care and how we treat our elderly. With elderly people accounting for a greater proportion of the American populace and as people start living even longer than they do now, end-of-life care will become and remain a major issue faced by doctors, patients, their families, and the healthcare system. Additionally, with our greater focus on improving patient outcomes while getting the most value for our healthcare dollars, end-of-life care is a major area that healthcare systems and hospitals will focus on, as it accounts for a large portion of their budget. As a response to the need to take care of our aging population, hospice care and palliative medicine are some of the newer specialties in the medical field that have been increasing in popularity and more research needs to be focused in these areas to better understand how to improve patient outcomes.
Hospice always patient and families the automaty to decide a choice of end of life care. It allows who prefer to end life in their homes, pain free, surrounded by family and loved ones: Hospice works to make this happen. The focus in on caring, not curing. Hospice utilizes an interdisciplinary team of healthcare professionals and trained volunteers that address symptom control, pain management, and emotional and spiritual support expressly tailored to the patient's needs and wishes. Hospice is not “giving up,” nor is it a form of euthanasia or physician assisted
Americans at the end of their lives no longer have this sense of continuity and stability. Rituals today are as likely to include tubes and noisy machines, artificial ventilators and unpleasant drug regimens bringing as many unpleasant side effects as health benefits. Many times the dying languishes in a hospital bed, surrounded not by the comforts of home and family but rather by sterility and bright lights, strangers and hushed voices. Death is no longer a mysterious part of a cherished tradition but a terrifying ordeal to be postponed as long as possible, an enemy that must be fought off at all costs.
Palliative Care: medical and related care provided to a patient with a serious, life-threatening, or terminal illness that is not intended to provide curative treatment but rather to manage symptoms, relieve pain and discomfort, improve quality of life, and meet the emotional, social, and spiritual needs of the patient. (Palliative Care Medical Definition)
Critics to the idea of providing dying patients with lethal doses, fear that people will use this type those and kill others, “lack of supervision over the use of lethal drugs…risk that the drugs might be used for some other purpose”(Young 45). Young explains that another debate that has been going on within this issue is the distinction between killings patients and allowing them die. What people don’t understand is that it is not considered killing a patient if it’s the option they wished for. “If a dying patient requests help with dying because… he is … in intolerable burden, he should be benefited by a physician assisting him to die”(Young 119). Patients who are suffering from diseases that have no cure should be given the option to decide the timing and manner of their own death. Young explains that patients who are unlikely to benefit from the discovery of a cure, or with incurable medical conditions are individuals who should have access to either euthanasia or assisted suicide. Advocates agreeing to this method do understand that choosing death is a very serious matter, which is why it should not be settled in a moment. Therefore, if a patient and physician agree that a life must end and it has been discussed, and agreed, young concludes, “ if a patient asks his physician to end his life, that constitutes a request for
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
Physicians have a lot of power over their patients, many physicians advocate for the legalization of euthanasia (Shai 79). The physician’s duty is to ease the pain of the patient and, since many of the terminally ill patients experience unbearable pain, they do what they can and opt for euthanasia (Shai 79). Doctors are by law require to meet the needs of the patients and many times patients request for the doctors to alleviate the pain, although this could mean the termination the patients life. Physicians see the pain that their patients suffer and know what methods can ease the pain, not every patients suffering from chronic diseases will be given the same treatment, however if the patient is given the treatment of euthanasia, there is a reason behind that action. Pain is a contributing factor to the patients request to be euthanatized furthermore research has shown that the amount of pain they experiences rises to forty percent in last couple days of their lives.(Ho and Chantagul 254). Not only do patients with cancer experience untorable pain, but other terminal ill patients suffer as well. None of the patients who live through the pain what to be destroyed by i(Ho and Chantagul 254). It is difficult to imagine that someone has to carryout the rest of there days in pain and with not a single option but to wait it out. This makes patients
I argue in favor of the right to die. If someone is suffering from a terminal illness that is:
Many terminally ill patients believe it is important to have the option to die with dignity as opposed to suffering during their final days. Personal autonomy is defined as the ability to make decisions for oneself and seek a course of action in his or her life; this plays an important role in the debate over an individuals right to die. Dying with Dignity should not be mistaken for hospice, or palliative care, which is defined as medical care for individuals suffering from a terminal illness, concentrating on providing relief from the symptoms of the illness. It is commonly used to insure the patient is comfortable and pain-free during their final days. Palliative care is mandatory to be offered to patients considering physician-assisted suicide. "Between 1994 and 2013, hospice use surged, with 1.5 million Americans receiving hospice care in 2013, compared with only 246,000 in 1994, according to the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization." This statistic begs the question as to whether more patients are seeking physician-assisted suicide as oppose to palliative care considering the number of Americans utilizing the services has dropped significantly in the past twenty
This option would also reduce the financial burden the patient potentially places on the family. In some U.S states assisted suicide has become legal and is referred to as “death with dignity” laws. In these states the people have voted that it is the patient's choice to voluntarily euthanasia and so they have the “right to die” meaning that each individual is entitled to end their own life. This “Right to Die” concept is the main factor in support of “death with dignity”
People say the mind is a very complex thing. The mind gives people different interpretations of events and situations. A person state of mind can lead to a death of another person. As we all know death is all around us in movies, plays, and stories. The best stories that survive throughout time involve death in one form or another. For example, William Shakespeare is considered as one of the greatest writers in literary history known for having written a lot of stories concerning death like Macbeth or Julius Caesar. The topic of death in stories keeps people intrigued and on the edge of their seats. Edgar Allan Poe wrote two compelling stories that deal with death “The Tell-Tale Heart” and “The Raven.” In “The
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...
The subject of death and dying is a common occurrence in the health care field. There are many factors involved in the care of a dying patient and various phases the patient, loved ones and even the healthcare professional may go through. There are many controversies in health care related to death, however much of it roots from peoples’ attitudes towards it. Everyone handles death differently; each person has a right to their own opinions and coping mechanisms. Health care professionals are very important during death related situations; as they are a great source of support for a patient and their loved ones. It is essential that health care professionals give ethical, legal and honest care to their patients, regardless of the situation.
In my life time, I have experienced many deaths. I have never had anyone that was very close to me die, but I have shed tears over many deaths that I knew traumatically impacted the people that I love. The first death that influenced me was the death of my grandfather. My grandfather passed away when I was very young, so I never really got the chance to know him. My papaw Tom was my mothers dad, and she was very upset after his passing. Seeing my mom get upset caused me to be sad. The second death that influenced my life was the death of my great grandmother. My great grandmother was a very healthy women her whole life. When she was ninety three she had