DNR Debate

3 Pages 818 Words

Self-rule the meaning of that phrase I think applies to the individual; that individuals should have the freedom to choose what happens to them. Doctors are obligated to respect patient autonomy by providing patients with the information they need to make an informed and uncoerced decision about their care. In the case study nursing home the DNR policy in question is one that can affect any nursing home that chooses to strip its residents of their self-rule.
When caring for people with developmental disabilities providers often are unable to employ the principle of autonomy because many of their patients do not have the mental ability to make an informed and (relatively) autonomous decision (2000, www.ama-assn.org). A patient that has never been competent and therefore has never expressed an informed opinion on medical care posses a great challenge. When providers cannot rely upon the principle of autonomy on the patient to provide an answer, they must turn to a surrogate decision-maker.
“The principle that governs what is meant by the patient's "best interests." The principle of beneficence requires us to further the important and legitimate interests of others, largely be preventing or removing possible harms”(2000, www.aarp.org). According to our textbook, advance directives are tuff to enforce. The essential purpose of advance directives is to allow people to receive the specific medical treatment they want, or to refuse the medical treatment they do not want, during a time in which a person would otherwise be incapable of expressing their desires. Some positive aspects concerning advance directives exist; One of the most important being the fact that the process of actually establishing a directive can create a "roadmap" for expressing thoughts, feelings about life, death, and treatment options in an established, and formal manner (2000, www.abanet.org). Furthermore, since different people have widely-varying...