Holding life and death in their hands
Is this for me?
The intensive care unit. Personnel ; Rhythms ; Economics
Actors. Patients ; Friends, family, and significant others ; Health care professionals
Decisions. Informed consent ; Venues ; Affect ; Conflict
Prognosis. Evidence ; Timing ; Mixed messages ; Negotiation ; Accuracy ; Prognostic framing
Decision-making scripts. The legal script ; Cognitive scripts ; Conflicts of interest ; Law at the bedside
Improvisation: decisions in the real world. The patient should decide ; Reprising patient instructions ; Standing in the patient's shoes ; Beneficence ; It's God's decision ; What we want ; Denial, opting out
Making a difference? The role of physicians ; Opting for a trajectory ; Outcomes ; I thought the law would take care of this ; Does any of this matter?
The end. Implications ; Before it's too late ; When it's too late ; When "this" happens to me.
Holding life and death in their hands
The intensive care unit
Actors
Decisions
Prognosis
Decision-making scripts
Improvisation
Making a difference?
The end. Implications
Appendix A: The research
Appendix B.1: Patient occupation
Appendix B.2: Patient age, gender and marital status
Appendix B.3: Location and purpose of observed meetings
Appendix C: Relationship between multiple trajectories traversed
Appendix D: Decision trajectory by patient and surrogate characteristics
Appendix E: Advance-directive status and aspects of the decision-making process, outcome, and impact.