How do you feel about wills, living wills and 5-wishes documents? Do you have any of these or do you intend to use any of them? Has your opinion changed after taking this class?
Wills and Living wills and 5-wishes documents are legal documents that purposes to express and communicate individual wishes and guidance relevant in the time of death or in a situation when one cannot make proper decisions. When nearing the end of life or undergoing treatment for a chronic illness, it is essential to focus on using the three documents or at least one of them (Mikhail, 2019). Having the documents help in enhancing proper decision making in a situation when it is difficult or impossible to make a decision. Each of the mentioned legal document has its significance as it purposes to meet a different objective. For the wills, the main goal involves defining the strategies to distribute wealth and mentions specific persons that would be entitled to take the properties and wealth based on an individual decision. For the living will and the 5-wish document, focuses on providing directives and wishes that should be considered for an individual’s end of life care.
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Considering the purpose of each legal document used, I intend to use all of them at different times. The main reason for having to use the given documents is to reduce conflict in the situation of death or chronic illness. The use of the will focusses on ensuring that I name the people that would be entitled to take any of my possession, which is an aspect that would be necessary to reduce conflict. For the living wills, I outline the keys aspects that I wish to be considered at the end of life care. The directives on the living will and the 5-wishes documents will enable the medical practitioners and family members to make an important decision based on the specified wishes. Upon taking the class on the legal documents, my opinion has changed significantly considering the acquired knowledge on the importance of using each of the legal document. Additionally, the course has helped to change the myths associated with the use of will and living will.
If you were dying, would you choose palliative care or extreme medical processes? What would factor into your decision?
When facing a life-threatening illness, it is essential to focus on deciding on a specific approach that would help in dealing with the situation. In that situation, I would choose palliative care, which is a healthcare approach that focuses on reducing suffering and providing relief. The approach focuses on addressing the symptoms and not necessarily trying to find a cure to the condition. An effective palliative care approach focuses on the implementation of different strategies such as counselling, therapy, and medications to create an assurance of getting better and improving on a day to day basis (Mikhail, 2019). Considering that life-threatening illness may cause emotional and mental issues associated with death, it is crucial to focus on an approach that focuses on promoting the mental and emotional wellbeing of an individual in end-of-life care.
The main factor that contributes to deciding on a palliative care approach involves the provision of a better quality of life despite the nature of the chronic illness. The approach focuses on enhancing the lives of patients by focusing on a wide range of factors that concern counselling and proper nutrition for the patient. The second reason involves the fact that the approach focuses on ensuring that a patient spends less time in hospital and get to spend more time with family. At the end of life care, a patient requires to spend more time with family, which is an aspect that helps to boost their wellbeing. Lastly, I would choose the approach considering that it allows patients to shift their attention from the issues of death.
Reference
Mikhail, I. (2019, November). Advance Directives: Challenges on End-of-Life Decisions among Older Adults. In APHA's 2019 Annual Meeting and Expo (Nov. 2-Nov. 6) . American Public Health Association.
