Marking Rubric PBH2004 PDF

End of Life Decision Making

Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Why is the topic the area you have chosen a significant health issue?......................................3
What are some of the ethical issues in this area?.......................................................................5
What are some of the legal issues in this area?..........................................................................6
What is happening in Victoria/ Australia this year in relation to your chosen issue?...............6
Do you agree with the current approach? If so, why If not, Why?............................................7
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................8
Bibliography...............................................................................................................................9

Introduction
End of life decision making in simple words can be understood as the process through which
the healthcare experts, patients as well as their families undergo at the time of treatment of
life threatening illness [ CITATION Mar186 \l 1033 ]. There are a number of forms available
during this decision- making process. The first is the advance directives in which the patient’s
are given opportunity to showcase their preference in writing before the occurrence of the
critical illness. It has been proved that advance directives have minimal impact on the actual
care that is being received by the patient at the time of end of life [ CITATION Med18 \l
1033 ]. Another such decision is related to resuscitative efforts. This is related to DNR orders
that are Do-Not-Resuscitate which may vary from content to content depending upon the
patient’s request that is to use no resuscitative efforts or to use limited efforts at the time of
cardiac arrest [CITATION GLW00 \l 1033 ]. The third type of end of life decision is related
to the withholding or withdrawing of the life sustaining therapies and equipments being used
during the end of life. These include antibiotic therapy dialysis, mechanical ventilation
administration of fluids nutritional feeding, etc. [CITATION JRC02 \l 1033 ]. Many experts
have shown their interest towards improving the decision -making process near the end of
life. It has been seen that many times conflict arises when the meaningful survival of patients
is not possible but, the expert’s main aim is to preserve life and take decisions that benefits
the patients. This has taken the shape of ethical decisions in the field of health care. This is so
because the current law and policies have made the patients self determination as priority
while taking decisions related to end of life. The new laws have given the power to patients to
refuse the medical treatment [ CITATION Ken00 \l 1033 ].