happen that requires resuscitation, the form would be easily accessible. One of the most important things about a DNR directive is communication with the doctor and the family members (Sellers & Dittman, 2009). In 1979, the Kansas Legislature created a statue on livings wills, also known as the Kansas Natural Death Act. The act states that persons have the fundamental right to “adult control the decisions relating to the rendering of their own medical care, including the decisions to have life-sustaining procedures withheld or withdrawn in instances of a terminal condition” (Donaldson, 2006). The act also recognizes that an adult person may make a written declaration or instructing his or her physician to withhold or withdraw-life sustaining medical treatment. This document express the notion that the patient always has the right to decline medical treatment, and the patient and their physician should have a working relationship and understanding of the patient’s wishes. There have been several controversial law cases over the past 30 years that were based solely around the DNR order or lack there-of. One of the most notable cases is the case of Cruzan vs. Missouri Department of Health. This case occurred only four years after the state of Kansas created its Kansas Natural Death Act. Nancy Cruzan was in an automobile accident in Missouri on January 11, 1983 in which she was ejected from the car and was found pulses and apneic. The paramedics were able to revive Ms. Cruzan and she was transported to a local hospital. At that point she was diagnosed with severe brain hypoxia due to the pulseless state she was found in, and also diagnosed with irreversible brain damage. After several days in the intensive care unit, the doctors inserted a feeding tube into Cruzan’s stomach to provide her with artificial nutrition and hydration. Not long after the tube was placed, Cruzan’s family came to the realization that she was not going to recover and would probably remain in a brain dead,
happen that requires resuscitation, the form would be easily accessible. One of the most important things about a DNR directive is communication with the doctor and the family members (Sellers & Dittman, 2009). In 1979, the Kansas Legislature created a statue on livings wills, also known as the Kansas Natural Death Act. The act states that “adult persons have the fundamental right to control the decisions relating to the rendering of their own medical care, including the decisions to have life-sustaining procedures withheld or withdrawn in instances of a terminal condition” (Donaldson, 2006). The act also recognizes that an adult person may make a written declaration or instructing his or her physician to withhold or withdraw-life sustaining medical treatment. This document express the notion that the patient always has the right to decline medical treatment, and the patient and their physician should have a working relationship and understanding of the patient’s wishes. There have been several controversial law cases over the past 30 years that were based solely around the DNR order or lack there-of. One of the most notable cases is the case of Cruzan vs. Missouri Department of Health. This case occurred only four years after the state of Kansas created its Kansas Natural Death Act. Nancy Cruzan was in an automobile accident in Missouri on January 11, 1983 in which she was ejected from the car and was found pulses and apneic. The paramedics were able to revive Ms. Cruzan and she was transported to a local hospital. At that point she was diagnosed with severe brain hypoxia due to the pulseless state she was found in, and also diagnosed with irreversible brain damage. After several days in the intensive care unit, the doctors inserted a feeding tube into Cruzan’s stomach to provide her with artificial nutrition and hydration. Not long after the tube was placed, Cruzan’s family came to the realization that she was not going to recover and would probably remain in a brain dead,
informed_assent_dnr.docx