The Advanced Directives documents are guided by various principles, values and theories. These principles are autonomy, beneficence, and justice. I ensured fairness when writing the Living Will and Medical Power of Attorney by making it easy for my family members to share everything I had equally instead of leaving them fighting over material wealth. When I wrote the two documents, it was out of my own will, and nobody forced me and my doctor ensured that I was mentally fit. The values I based my reports on were honesty and trust to my lawyer who made sure that they were legal. King’s theory can be used in creating a trust relationship between medical providers and patient, which assists in making the end of life decisions.
When writing the advance directives, I first had to consult with my lawyer to ensure that they would be legal and the documents would be used when I am unable to make any decisions. I had to choose a trusted health care agent to assist with the Medical Power of Attorney. The process was not easy, especially with the Living Will. I was not sure whether I was making the right decisions, but I knew that I wanted my family to be happy after I passed and not fighting. It was not easy writing the documents. It felt like I was almost dead, and that was the last decision I made in life.
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I have been involved in end-of-life issues in this course previously. I watched the BBC documentary on “Between Life and Death”, all the five parts. The documentary follows the lives of doctors who are able to interrupt and reverse the death process. Families are shown being involved in making an ethical decision in modern medicine. One man who was able to move only his eyes was involved in making his decisions by being questioned whether he wanted to live or die (BBC, 2010). The emotional involvement and drama related to end-of-life decisions are shown in the documentary. The film expresses how families suffer when making decisions as well as the development of ethics in health care.
Watching the real-life video situations in BBC documentary Between Life and Death changed my beliefs about end-of-life decisions. The doctors in the video have embraced modern medicine, and they are willing to try all approaches to save a patient. In addition, medical ethics has improved a lot. A patient is consulted about making the decisions of living despite being unable to talk as seen with the man who only moved their eyes (Jeffrey, 2018). It is an indication that healthcare principles, such as autonomy and justice, are promoted in modern medicine. Family members or other interested parties cannot force a patient to make final decisions because they are now protected.
My ethical beliefs affect decisions concerning end-of-life issues. I will have to consult a medical practitioner to guide me when writing the Medical Power of Attorney. I will make decisions that will not result in drama as my family members disagree on what to do with me in case of a coma or unable to make any decisions. I will also ensure that the final decision I make will not cause excessive emotional torture or drain my family financially (Hall, Orentlicher, Bobinski, Bagley, & Cohen, 2018). When making these final decisions, I will only consult experts but decide on my own to practice autonomy.
References
BBC. (2010, August 30). Between Life and Death. Retrieved October 2, 2019, from https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00t3szs.
Hall, M. A., Orentlicher, D., Bobinski, M. A., Bagley, N., & Cohen, I. G. (2018). Health care law and ethics . Wolters Kluwer Law & Business.
Jeffrey, D. (2018). Patient-centred Ethics and Communication at the End of Life . CRC Press.
