Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Do Not Resuscitate v/s Do Not Treat

If you have a resident who is on a DNR (Do Not Resuscitate), does that mean that you do not treat them for infection or other illness? Or is it limited to life-saving measures? My understanding is that the whole point of my job is to keep my residents as happy, comfortable and healthy as possible. If I have a resident on a DNR, doesn't that mean that if their heart stops, we don't try to restart it? But if they have an ear infection, shouldn't we treat that so they aren't in pain?

I'm only thinking about this because some nurses seem to think that they shouldn't give antibiotics to a DNR. Sorry, I call bullshit. DNR doesn't mean that the resident has to suffer. DNR means that if they are crossing over, we don't try to stop them.

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