Whether a Patients DNR Status Should Deny Them Emergency Treatment - Assignment Example

A patient’s Do-not-resuscitate (DNR) status is meant to prohibit the health care professionals including doctors and nurses to attempt any emergency treatment like cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) even if physical health status becomes dangerous and the heart rate dwindles. Like euthanasia and prohibition of blood transfusion for Jehovah’s witnesses, the DNR request has also attracted much controversy in the healthcare field. It is not just a request, but a legal order on behalf of the patient to stop the medical personnel from performing an emergency procedure like CPR on him/her even if cardiac arrest is likely otherwise. A DNR does not become an obstacle in the way of most medical treatments like dialysis, surgery, chemotherapy, etc. However, any emergency procedure which would consist of intubation or CPR is not allowed and patients with DNR status are denied that.

Though each state in the US has differing rules and regulations, both CPR and advanced life support are not performed if there is an explicit DNR request confirmed by law. It is considered important that “a full discussion of the DNR order should be undertaken” (Norman, 2010) before advancing to surgery. But the way things are done is different in the prehospital settings and in many US states, a DNR order is not followed during the period when a patient is being transferred to the hospital from the site of trauma. Prehospital medical personnel in such cases starts resuscitation measures and does not deny a patient proper cardiac life support based on intubation and CPR. In contrast to Canada and US where DNRs are respected in healthcare setups by doctors and nurses, it is claimed by a Jordanian medical student that there is no concept of DNRs in Jordan and the rest of the Middle East, and also the family is denied the right to observe resuscitation in the OR.

It is always tried to save a patient’s life even if emergency measures taken antagonize the patient’s will (Yousef, cited in Jimenez, 2009). There are some conditions specified by US law when a patient’s DNR status should not deny them emergency treatment. This is when, among other conditions, there is sufficient evidence suggesting the cancellation of the DNR order. Also, when a patient him/herself wishes for resuscitative or emergency measures or he/she is not in a state to make a conscious decision and it is requested by a family member to initiate emergency procedures, the DNR form is ignored (New York Department of Health, 1999). However, if a patient shows a DNR personally or a family member presents it and it is absolutely valid, no chest compressions or ventilation procedures are allowed. Even if the patient is choking on something and breathing stops consequently, a DNR form suggests that still “ventilation should not be assisted” (New York Department of Health, 1999).