Doctor Considers The Pitfalls Of Extending Life And Prolonging Death

The three West Coast states all have death with dignity laws. My mother had applied for it in California, but passed before the paperwork got approved.

To me, this is old news. As a nurse for now 26 years, I've seen these scenarios play out many times. Many doctors still get hung up on fixing the problem the disease causes vs. addressing the potential outcomes for aggressively treating it. In the end, quality of life and the patient's wishes should have as much to do with how the situation is handled as anything.
However, there are times when futility should be also recognized and respected such as in the case he mentions with the code he described where CPR was ongoing for an hour and a half. There are times when as a professional you have to make the call and not put a distraught family member in that role. It's a balancing act that more physicians need to really engage in, in my humble opinion. Sometimes treating the patient is not always about a cure.

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