Assigning an appropriate surrogate.

Synopsis:

This article from The American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care is a case study about a 22 year old man who sustained a depressed skull fracture in a car accident and was diagnosed with persistent vegetative state.  Complications arise when the patient’s wife passes on orders to the medical team that she believes are consistent with her husband’s wishes, but are contrary to the wishes of the patient’s father.  An informative and detailed ethics dialogue ensues regarding legal and informal surrogates and about the compassion needed by physicians when communicating with and making decisions involving surrogates.  This article offers legal, ethical, medical, social work, and nursing perspectives.

Source:

The American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care

Vol/Page/Date:

2007 Oct-Nov;24(5):422-8.

Resource Type:

Journal Article

Author/Source:

Baumrucker SJ.