Living Will Essay

When a patient is unable to make decisions for himself or herself, their caregivers and those who know them are appointed to make the decisions based on what the patient would have wanted. This is called surrogate decision making. According to the article Terri Schiavo and End-of-Life Decisions “when surrogate decision makers and caregivers cannot agree upon what that choice would have been, they may turn to the courts to determine either what the now-incapacitated patient would have chosen or who is best suited to choose as the patient would have” (Mathes, 2005)

Secondly, the patient should be capable of making and communicating health care decisions for him or herself. Thirdly, the patient must be diagnosed with a terminal illness that will lead to death within six months.  Interested patients must also provide the request for termination in writing to the physician. In addition, physicians are expected to inform patients to alternative means of care including hospice care and other medications. Only after precautions evaluation, the laws then permit patients to make the ultimate life ending decision.

1.1 Outline legal requirements and agreed ways of working designed to protect the rights of individuals in end of life care.

The topic of end-of-life care may seem daunting and uncomfortable, and yet most individuals do have unique desires and concerns regarding their provision for the future. Providing the opportunity for that communication, the advance directive and POLST forms allow an individual to explicitly state their wishes before the future. Developed to lessen the apprehensions concerning patients undergoing any extensive and unwanted measures to preserve life at any cost, these medical directives lighten the decision-making burden for physicians and families alike and help comply with the patient’s utmost end-of-life wishes.

An example of this Act is the very popular Nancy Cruzan Case. Although Nancy was left in a vegetative state resulting from a car accident, her parents were able to make the decision to have her removed from feeding tubes because Nancy expressed before the accident that she never wanted to be kept alive from breathing or feeding tubes. This Act really promotes Advanced Directives and hospitals, clinics and other providers that receive Medicare or Medicaid funds to provide patients with written information about their right and the information must clearly state the institutions policies on withholding or withdrawing life-sustaining treatment.

On a living will, an individual can express if they would prefer not to be resuscitated or if they don’t want to be living artificially on life-support. Additionally, living wills establish a written declaration of a power of attorney, establishing a person who may legally speak on behalf of a patient who is unable to do so. Living wills are crucial pieces of documentation that are necessary for the dignity and wishes of a person who may fall unexpectedly into a life-threatening condition. If a person does not wish to live artificially on life support, a living will may be the only documentation that can secure their right to die with what they choose to be a dignified death. Unfortunately, living wills are not too common, resulting in countless Americans whose lives are extended long after they wish to live. In order to get a living will, one can either hire an attorney and have the attorney draft a living will or there are templates available that can be filled out and submitted for notarization.

1) Write a will for yourself. This does not have to be a long document, but it should look like a will. Look at examples on Google to determine the format to use.

This paper concerns the ethical basis for advance directives, or “Living Wills”; the value of these advance directives to the patients, their families; and the authorities that these advance directives give the above mentioned interested parties.

That other factor is removing one from life support. This issue is brought up in both the case of Karen Ann Quinlan and in the case of Cruzan v. Missouri. It is illegal to remove a patient from life support without

When you are able, you should put thought into the physical process you will go through. All of us love you and want to make sure that when the time comes, we know and can follow your wishes regarding the care you wish to receive. Having your decisions thoroughly and clearly stated in an advance directive will make this possible. (Berger, 2014, p. 590). Your advance directive document may contain a living will, a signed consent for Do Not Resuscitate (DNR), and information identifying your healthcare proxy. Understanding these things now, will help you make clear choices. A living will clarifies what care, or lack of care, you wish to have (Berger, 2014, p. 590). This is helpful for reference if you are ever unconscious or in any way incapable

It is very important that each individual, if possible has a say in his or her own dying and death. Facing death is hard for everyone and there are specific issues to be talked about in advance. A living will or a Physician Order for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST) is extremely useful. The POLST is designed for people with serious or life-threatening illnesses. “This is a standardized form that describes a patient’s wishes and is signed by his or her physician, providing both summary of an individual’s advance directive decision and the physician’s order. It can be used to inform emergency personnel about a patient’s wishes for life sustaining procedures, such as CPR. “

On the same token, it’s recommended that adult children also have a living will, aka an advance care directive, which outlines a person’s wishes about life-extending medical treatment, as well as other intentions, such as organ donations. This document takes effect when the doctor declares that the patient lacks the capacity to make their own health care

Advance Directives are our wishes when we are at end of life stages of life that give specific direction of how, who, and when to treat us in our final days and hours. We can have documents drawn up to say what we want in the event we are in a state where we cannot voice our wishes aloud. These documents have legal and ethical basis, and they should be followed unless the legally or ethically unable to do so.

Upon reflection of the Five Wishes, several thoughts came to mind. First and foremost, having a designated advanced directive is critical. There are countless examples of clinical experiences in with which families were overwhelmed with unexpected end-of-life decisions. As an educated caregiver, we should personally take the necessary steps to assure these tough decisions are known to someone who can facilitate the level of care desired. Such consideration of these elements of care in advance can help to support our loved ones during this emotional time. After review of the five wishes, I recognized that I would not want life-support measures if faced with irreversible deleterious outcomes that resulted from

In addition, the legality of living wills is still being challenged in about 25 percent of all cases, decisions are made -– by family or physician – that are contrary to the patient’s wishes as stated in their living will (i.e.