Reflective Essay: End Of Life Care

This was an interesting case to read. I think you did a good job on your power point presentation. End of life care decision making can be very difficult when the patient does not have any written wishes or a proxy to act on their behalf. My family and I were faced with a similar situation when my Aunt was struck by a car in a hit and run. The accident left her brain dead in a vegetative state. She was a nurse and just like Terri Schiavo, did not have any written wishes. My family went back in forth for days and thankfully her husband decided enough was enough and withdrew care. Had the Terri had an advanced directive or proxy her wishes would have been made clearer, making the decision to terminate or sustain life blatant instead of questioned. Advanced planning in cases like this is crucial to …show more content…
Complex advance care planning interventions may be more effective in meeting patients’ preferences than written documents alone” (Brinkman-Stoppelenburg, Rietjens, & Heide, 2014). Had the Terri had advanced care planning the fight between her parents and her husband would have probably still have been an issue, but the legal documentation would have been vital in her treatment plan during end of life care. I believe it would have been difficult for the court to act of substituted judgment, which defined by Butts & Rich as a “standard used to guide medical decision-making for formerly competent patients who no longer have any decision-making skills” (Butts & Rich, 2016). It would have been hard to know what the patient wanted due to her entering the hospital with a dramatic brain injury and never really being able to express her wishes on the what “if’s” in her care. The best interest standard could have been implemented which defined by Butts & Rich as is “an evaluation of what is good for an incompetent patient in particular healthcare situation when the patient has probably never been competent” (Butts & Rich,