Advanced Directives
Advanced Directives
NU 230
January 15, 2013
Advanced Directives Advance Directives are a type of blueprint for individuals to map out their plan of care in case they become mentally unable to make decisions. Two highly published cases involving women who lacked decisional capacity started the ball rolling for what became known as the Patient Self- determination Act of 1990 (Odom, 2012). This act required medical professionals to advice patients of their rights once be admitted as a patient. There are moral, ethical and spiritual factors that come into play when a patient is making end of life plans and keeping the family informed will help with the caring through of those decisions even if the patient can no longer make their own choices. As Nurses it our job to educate and inform the patient of these rights and what choices they have in making these types of decisions. We must obtain written consent and document as much information as possible so that a patient feels we are making choices in their best interest.
Advance directives is a formal document or verbal consent depending on the circumstances, giving healthcare workers an outline of what care a patient wants after they are not mentally capable of making the decision themselves. In 2005, the introduction of the mental capacity act formalized law on advance directives. (McGhie,2012) This Act gave recommendations on how to draft an advance decision, what valid requirements were needed, restrictions that may apply and how withdrawals or amendments were to be handled. In some cases where disagreements have come up the court will step in and decide whether: A person has capacity, the advanced decision is valid, or if it is applicable to the proposed treatment and current circumstances. (McGhie, 2012) According to the article the importance of carefully drafted advanced decisions, an example of where an advanced directive was question came from a case where a man suffered from motor neurone disease
NU 230
January 15, 2013
Advanced Directives Advance Directives are a type of blueprint for individuals to map out their plan of care in case they become mentally unable to make decisions. Two highly published cases involving women who lacked decisional capacity started the ball rolling for what became known as the Patient Self- determination Act of 1990 (Odom, 2012). This act required medical professionals to advice patients of their rights once be admitted as a patient. There are moral, ethical and spiritual factors that come into play when a patient is making end of life plans and keeping the family informed will help with the caring through of those decisions even if the patient can no longer make their own choices. As Nurses it our job to educate and inform the patient of these rights and what choices they have in making these types of decisions. We must obtain written consent and document as much information as possible so that a patient feels we are making choices in their best interest.
Advance directives is a formal document or verbal consent depending on the circumstances, giving healthcare workers an outline of what care a patient wants after they are not mentally capable of making the decision themselves. In 2005, the introduction of the mental capacity act formalized law on advance directives. (McGhie,2012) This Act gave recommendations on how to draft an advance decision, what valid requirements were needed, restrictions that may apply and how withdrawals or amendments were to be handled. In some cases where disagreements have come up the court will step in and decide whether: A person has capacity, the advanced decision is valid, or if it is applicable to the proposed treatment and current circumstances. (McGhie, 2012) According to the article the importance of carefully drafted advanced decisions, an example of where an advanced directive was question came from a case where a man suffered from motor neurone disease
References: Abadir, P. M., Finucane, T. E., & McNabney, M. K. (2011). When Doctors and Daughters Disagree: Twenty-Two Days and Two Blinks of an Eye. Journal Of The American Geriatrics Society, 59(12), 2337-2340. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com.proxy.itt-tech.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=rzh&AN=2011400713&site=ehost-live&scope=site Gardner, D. B. (2012). Quality in Life and Death: Can We Have the Conversations?. Nursing Economic$, 30(4), 224-227. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com.proxy.itt-tech.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=rzh&AN=2011657131&site=ehost-live&scope=site McGhie, F., & Maguire, C. (2012). The importance of carefully drafted advance decisions. British Journal Of Neuroscience Nursing, 8(5), 304-305. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com.proxy.itt-tech.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=rzh&AN=2011739789&site=ehost-live&scope=site Meile, D. D. (2012). Advanced directives in the intensive care unit. Critical-Care Nursing, 24, 200-210. Retrieved from http:// aacn.org/index.p102 Mitchell, M. (2012). An analysis of common arguments against Advance Directives. Nursing Ethics, 19(2), 245-251. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com.proxy.itt-tech.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=rzh&AN=2011499902&site=ehost-live&scope=site