Human Growth and Development / Unit 17 HGD 2428 worked example, 60 to 90 seconds
Advance Directives
The idea
An advance directive is a legal document stating a person's wishes for when they cannot communicate them; since death can come suddenly, it matters at any age. A living will specifies which life-sustaining treatments, such as dialysis, feeding tubes or intubation, a person does or does not want. A health-care proxy, also called a durable power of attorney for health care, names a person to make health-care decisions when the patient cannot.
In practice
A woman with Alzheimer's disease needing consent for a minor surgery: her living will is silent, but her proxy can decide.
Where people slip
The misconception is that a living will covers every medical decision. It covers life-sustaining treatment; a proxy covers the rest. Without a proxy, families may conflict, and advance discussion reduces but does not remove their distress. Medical orders, written by clinicians for seriously ill patients, must be followed by other medical staff.
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