Importance of Advance Directives
The Importance of Advance Directives
Tara J. DiDonato
Axia College of University of Phoenix
The Importance of Advance Directives
While most people do not speak about end of life issues either because of their background or religion, it is not only for the elderly, we should all make our wishes known. According to the Pew Research Center, (January 2006), “42% of Americans have had a friend or relative suffer from a terminal illness or coma in the last five years and for a majority of these people , the issue of withholding life sustaining treatment came up”. Although many people feel it is taboo, all adults over the age of 18 should think about what their healthcare wishes would be if they could not speak for themselves. These wishes should be documented in an advance directive, so that loved ones know what they are.
Power of Communication
According to the Mayo Clinic (2005), “The issues surrounding serious illness and death are not easy to discuss. Decisions are much easier on our loved ones if we have an advance directive in place before we are faced with a serious illness or accident”. Without communicating our wishes, we might find ourselves in a condition that we are unable to communicate the medical treatment we wish to receive, such as resuscitation or life support.
Having a conversation with loved ones is important to clarify medical wishes. We should explain our wishes and explain how our values have shaped our decision.
Types of Advance Directives
According to the Mayo Clinic (2005), “Advance Directives are written instructions regarding your medical care preferences”. There are various types of advance directives, such as; a Living Will, Durable Power of Attorney, Healthcare Proxy and Do Not Resuscitate Order (DNR). Durable power of attorney and living wills have limitations, they do not include instructions for every situation, which means that we need to trust that the person we have named will make the decisions which are in our best
Tara J. DiDonato
Axia College of University of Phoenix
The Importance of Advance Directives
While most people do not speak about end of life issues either because of their background or religion, it is not only for the elderly, we should all make our wishes known. According to the Pew Research Center, (January 2006), “42% of Americans have had a friend or relative suffer from a terminal illness or coma in the last five years and for a majority of these people , the issue of withholding life sustaining treatment came up”. Although many people feel it is taboo, all adults over the age of 18 should think about what their healthcare wishes would be if they could not speak for themselves. These wishes should be documented in an advance directive, so that loved ones know what they are.
Power of Communication
According to the Mayo Clinic (2005), “The issues surrounding serious illness and death are not easy to discuss. Decisions are much easier on our loved ones if we have an advance directive in place before we are faced with a serious illness or accident”. Without communicating our wishes, we might find ourselves in a condition that we are unable to communicate the medical treatment we wish to receive, such as resuscitation or life support.
Having a conversation with loved ones is important to clarify medical wishes. We should explain our wishes and explain how our values have shaped our decision.
Types of Advance Directives
According to the Mayo Clinic (2005), “Advance Directives are written instructions regarding your medical care preferences”. There are various types of advance directives, such as; a Living Will, Durable Power of Attorney, Healthcare Proxy and Do Not Resuscitate Order (DNR). Durable power of attorney and living wills have limitations, they do not include instructions for every situation, which means that we need to trust that the person we have named will make the decisions which are in our best
References: Larson, Edward J. (2005). From Cruzan To Schiavo: Similar Bedfellows in Fact and at Law. Constitutional Commentary, 22(3), 405-417 Fell, S.D., Kulula, C.L., Taylor, P. (2005). Advance Directives. WebMD. Retrieved June 25, 2009, from http://www.emedicinehealth.com/advance_directives/page9_em.htm Mayo Clinic. (2007). Living wills and advance directives: Tools for medical wishes. Retrieved June 23, 2009, from http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/living-wills/HA00014 Pew Research Center. (2006). National Healthcare Decisions Day. Retrieved June 30, 2009, from http://people-press.org/reports/pdf/266.pdf Searight, H.R., Gafford, J. (2005). Cultural Diversity at the End of Life: Issues and Guidelines for Family Physicians. American Family Physician, 71(3), 515 - 521. Surrogate Decision Making: Reconcilling Ethical Theory and Clinical Practice (2008). Country of Publication Yates, Jr., Ferdinand. (2005). What would Terri have said?. The Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity. Retrieved June 18, 2009, from http://www.cbhd.org/resources/endoflife/yates_2005-07-01.htm