Medical futility in the care of non-competent terminally ill patient: Nursing perspectives and responsibilities

Provision of Care for Delirious Patients Hospitalized in Intensive Care Units: Nurses’ Experiences

“…Nurses expect to provide care services in line with ethical principles, but they need to cope with moral tensions when facing fruitless care services (41). Overall, according to the results of the present study, poor relationships, inadequate support, and categorized relationships are among factors damaging the relationship among nurses, while exhaustion from devotion, occupational fatigue, and fruitless caring are factors, leading to exhaustive care provision.…”

Patient Dignity at The End-Of-Life: Is it Possible in Critical Care?

“…Assuming responsibility for the treatment and care of another being obliges us to also safeguard their dignity in life and during the process of death. Issues related to death have been becoming increasingly important since the last century, as although biomedical technology has helped to prolong life, the debate regarding the dignity of a dying person continues [2]. Respecting dignity is having profound effects on the healthcare framework for dying patients [3], especially in the context of a critically ill patient visiting the Emergency Department (ED) or being admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).…”

Promoting dignified end-of-life care in the emergency department: A qualitative study

“…In a technological environment, patients, family members and professionals face palliative sedation, futility of treatment [7] and the physician orders for life-sustaining treatment (POLST) [26,27]. The preservation of a dying person's dignity in the ED is fundamental for the patient, his/her relatives and healthcare professionals [28].…”

“…Virginia Henderson has already stated that the nurse contributes to the patient's health or recovery, or to a dignified death [6]. Concepts such as quality of life [7], the economic cost of the end-of-life care [8,9], or public awareness of matters relating to death [4], are modifying the care of these patients so, with a focus on saving lives, the ED must now also provide end-of-life care [10]. Our framework is supported by H.M. Chochinov's model of dignity preservation [11].…”

“…Likewise, nurses feel that providing dignifying care could alleviate not only their own distress, but also that of the family and patient [7].…”