Sulla richiesta di sospensione dei trattamenti nella prospettiva etico-clinica
Published: December 30, 2007
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PDF (Italiano): 7
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All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.
Authors
Ordinario di Bioetica, Italy.
Dottore di ricerca in Bioetica, Istituto di Bioetica, Facoltà di
Medicina e Chirurgia "A. Gemelli", Italy.
Dirigente medico di I livello, Hospice oncologico
"Villa Speranza", Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Roma, Italy.
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The desire to die seems today expressed with increasing frequency by patients, even in clinical situations, which in itself would not be close to death. For the doctor, a death wish expressed by the patient should not be an ideological assumption to be endorsed or opposed, but rather a need to be filled. The article therefore has the objective to investigate how is the doctor for the will to live and/or expressed desire to die by a patient, how this request affects the work of the doctor and how much room it leaves to his skill and his professional commitment. Many patients express a desire to end their lives because they perceived as devoid of "meaning", "hope" or " dignity ". The notion of the patient's dignity is a frequent reference in the clinical-ethical decisions, especially at the end of life, but it is a rather vague and, above all, it is not always clear which clinical implications should have for the conduct of the doctor. In any case, it is certain that the concept of dignity, both in theory and in practical experience of patients, has to do with all the features and needs of the patient, that is with the whole man. In the perception of the patient's own dignity, therefore, plays a significant role not so much the disease itself, its symptoms, but the existential aspects that disease, for different reasons and in different ways, can put trough the mill. Therefore, the answer to a real and intense suffering does not seem to be a medical response in the technical sense, but certainly in the medical ethical one: it is the response of listening and communication skills, attention to the sphere of human patient, as well the limit marked by disease, but open and welcoming towards the concerns expressed by the patient and his personal experience of the disease. It is in the same "relationship", namely, that there is indeed a relationship between two persons, the first "therapeutic" effect of the relationship between doctor and patient.
How to Cite
Carrasco de Paula, I., Comoretto, N., & Turriziani, A. (2007). Sulla richiesta di sospensione dei trattamenti nella prospettiva etico-clinica. Medicina E Morale, 56(6). https://doi.org/10.4081/mem.2007.295
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