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Leah

Advanced directives are wishes written in advance by a patient concerning treatment preferences (Booth & Lehna, 2016). A living will and a durable power of attorney are types of advanced directives. A living will allows the patient to decide which measures they want taken to save their life in the event they are unable to make decisions. A durable power of attorney allows the patient to appoint someone else to make decisions for them if they are not able to (Miller, 2017). Beginning in July 2007 in Georgia, the living will and durable power of attorney were no longer recognized as advanced directive options. The Georgia Advance Directive for Healthcare Act replaced the living will and the healthcare power of attorney with the Georgia Advance Directive for Healthcare (“Georgia advance directive for health care”, 2016).

It is important to discuss with a patient their wishes and treatment preferences. Sometimes patients and families do not want to discuss this issue. Some patients want to have everything withheld and allow a natural death while some wish to have everything done no matter what the circumstances are. Family members sometimes request aggressive treatment even though the patient had requested not to have treatment. It causes this writer to be angered and upset that the family would go against their loved one's wishes.

Faith and religion can have a positive coping benefit for the patient experiencing life-altering illnesses. One study showed that positive religious coping was associated with lower rates of having a living will but predicted higher rates of an aggressive end of life care (Maciejewski, Phelps, & Kacel, 2013). The more a patient has faith, the more accepting they are to their fate. Many times fear of dying was not a factor and death was accepted.

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Response to Leah Of course an advanced directive exists in two forms a living will and a durable pow... View the full answer