Practising what we preach: clinical ethicists' professional perspectives and personal use of advance directives.

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2-2022

Publication Title

Journal of medical ethics

Abstract

The field of clinical bioethics strongly advocates for the use of advance directives to promote patient autonomy, particularly at the end of life. This paper reports a study of clinical bioethicists' perceptions of the professional consensus about advance directives, as well as their personal advance care planning practices. We find that clinical bioethicists are often sceptical about the value of advance directives, and their personal choices about advance directives often deviate from what clinical ethicists acknowledge to be their profession's recommendations. Moreover, our respondents identified a pluralistic set of justifications for completing treatment directives and designating surrogates, even while the consensus view focuses on patient autonomy. Our results suggest important revisions to academic discussion and public-facing advocacy about advance care planning.

Volume

48

Issue

2

First Page

144

Last Page

149

DOI

10.1136/medethics-2020-106760

ISSN

1473-4257

PubMed ID

33106382

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