Perfect Man
December 6, 2011
Position Paper 3
There lies a man with no motor or sensory function, who can no longer breathe, eat, drink, or move on his own. He lies there as his life is slowly draining away and you know as a medical professional that the only thing keeping him alive are the “machines” such as: the ventilator, feeding tubes, intravenous fluids, defibrillation equipment etc. You stand there deciphering the end results if he were to be taken off the machine and a conflict comes to mind. Your thoughts begin to race around in your head about whether it is wrong or right to let him lie there constantly being pumped to stay alive or whether you should take away the support and let him go to rest. There is no one simple answer to the conflict of whether it is right or wrong because the decision does not lie in your hands. As a state law, if the patient is not coherent to decide whether they want to withdrawal or stay on life support it goes to their designated person, and if one was not appointed it automatically goes to next of kin (Murrow). As a medical professional your requirements are to adhere to the patients wishes and if they are not available then the wishes of the family are to be met, even if the family chooses against artificial nutrition and hydration. The family may ask to be educated on exactly what the artificial nutrition and hydration does for the individual. One author writes, in a clinical judgment paper that, “…Most patients and families do not have the medical knowledge and clinical experience to make medical decisions by themselves and therefore need the physician’s guidance. In which case, explanation on why ANH should be given and the benefits of it may be expressed but with minimal, if not none, of your personal persuasion.
There is controversy over this entire debate of whether providing artificial nutrition is beneficial or not that it has actually prompted the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine to
Position Paper 3
There lies a man with no motor or sensory function, who can no longer breathe, eat, drink, or move on his own. He lies there as his life is slowly draining away and you know as a medical professional that the only thing keeping him alive are the “machines” such as: the ventilator, feeding tubes, intravenous fluids, defibrillation equipment etc. You stand there deciphering the end results if he were to be taken off the machine and a conflict comes to mind. Your thoughts begin to race around in your head about whether it is wrong or right to let him lie there constantly being pumped to stay alive or whether you should take away the support and let him go to rest. There is no one simple answer to the conflict of whether it is right or wrong because the decision does not lie in your hands. As a state law, if the patient is not coherent to decide whether they want to withdrawal or stay on life support it goes to their designated person, and if one was not appointed it automatically goes to next of kin (Murrow). As a medical professional your requirements are to adhere to the patients wishes and if they are not available then the wishes of the family are to be met, even if the family chooses against artificial nutrition and hydration. The family may ask to be educated on exactly what the artificial nutrition and hydration does for the individual. One author writes, in a clinical judgment paper that, “…Most patients and families do not have the medical knowledge and clinical experience to make medical decisions by themselves and therefore need the physician’s guidance. In which case, explanation on why ANH should be given and the benefits of it may be expressed but with minimal, if not none, of your personal persuasion.
There is controversy over this entire debate of whether providing artificial nutrition is beneficial or not that it has actually prompted the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine to
Cited: Arenella, Cheryll. "Artificial Nutrition and Hydration: Beneficial or Harmful?." American Hospice Foundation. American Hospice Foundation, 2005. Web. 5 Dec 2011. <http://www.americanhospice.org/articles-mainmenu-8/caregiving-mainmenu-10/48>. Fuhrman, Patricia. "Nutrition Support at the End of Life: A Critical Decision." Toda 'ys Dietician. Great Valley Publishing Company, Inc., September 2008. Web. 5 Dec 2011. <http://www.todaysdietitian.com/newarchives/082508p68.shtml>. Murrow, Angela. "Deciding to Withhold or Withdraw Life Sustaining Measures." About.com. The New York Times Company, 11/29/2009. Web. 6 Dec 2011. <http://dying.about.com/od/lifesupport/a/life_support1.htm>. Slomka, Jaquelyn. " Withholding nutrition at the end of life: Clinical and ethical issue." Clevland Clinic and Journal of Medicine. N.p., June 2003. Web. 5 Dec 2011. WebMD. "Questions and Answers: Artificial Nutrition and Hydration and End of Life Decision Making." WEB MD. N.p., 2005. Web. 6 Dec 2011. <http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/artificial-nutrition-hydration-end-of-life-decision-making-medref>.