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Difficulty: EasyAdvance Directives and End-of-Life Care

Pair the following clinical situations with the most appropriate legal or ethical term related to end-of-life care.

  • An individual drafts a document outlining their desire to refuse artificial feeding and mechanical ventilation if diagnosed with a terminal condition.Living Will
  • An elderly patient legally assigns his neighbor to make healthcare choices on his behalf if he ever loses the cognitive ability to do so.Healthcare Proxy
  • A hospital patient with end-stage heart failure requests that no chest compressions or defibrillation be given if their heart stops.Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) Order
  • A doctor gives a large dose of pain medication to a dying patient to alleviate severe distress, accepting the risk that it may suppress breathing.Principle of Double Effect

Answer

1 matches Living Will; 2 matches Healthcare Proxy; 3 matches Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) Order; 4 matches Principle of Double Effect.
Each scenario represents a classic, straightforward example of its matched concept. A living will details treatment preferences, a healthcare proxy designates a surrogate, a DNR restricts cardiopulmonary resuscitation, and the principle of double effect ethically allows symptom management that might hasten death as long as the intent is palliative.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the first scenario regarding a written document outlining treatment refusals.
This directly describes a Living Will.
A living will dictates specific medical interventions a patient accepts or refuses, rather than appointing a person.
2
Examine the second scenario describing the assignment of a decision-maker.
This corresponds to a Healthcare Proxy.
A proxy designates a person to make decisions on the patient's behalf when capacity is lost.
3
Evaluate the third scenario where a patient refuses chest compressions.
This is a Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) Order.
A DNR is a specific medical order that applies exclusively to CPR and defibrillation.
4
Assess the final scenario involving medication given for pain that may also suppress breathing.
This illustrates the Principle of Double Effect.
The intent is to treat pain, which is ethically permissible even if there is a foreseeable risk of hastening death.

Key Concept

Core concepts and documents in advance directives and end-of-life care
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Topics

Advance Directives and End-of-Life Care

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