Explain the types of advance directives.

Explain the types of advance directives.

• A. Only Living Will.
• B. Only DNR.
• C. Advance directives include patient medical records as the sole directive.
• D. Healthcare surrogate / proxy; Living will; DNR/DNI/artificial nutrition/CMO.

Answer: (D)

Advance directives encompass both who will make decisions for you if you can’t, and what kind of medical care you want in the future. The best answer reflects that range: it includes a healthcare surrogate or proxy who can decide on your behalf, a living will that states your treatment preferences, and physician orders that implement those preferences in concrete care like DNR (do not resuscitate), DNI (do not intubate), decisions about artificial nutrition and hydration, and a comfort measures only (CMO) order that prioritizes relief of symptoms over life-prolonging treatment. A living will specifies what treatments you would or wouldn’t want, given certain medical situations. A healthcare surrogate is someone you appoint to make decisions for you when you’re unable to communicate. The practical side comes from orders such as DNR/DNI and CMO, which translate your wishes into actionable medical orders, including whether to provide or withhold life-sustaining interventions or hydration/nutrition. The other options are incomplete because they either focus on a single element (only a living will or only a DNR) or wrongly imply that merely having medical records constitutes the directive. Advance directives are a combination of documented preferences, appointed decision-makers, and, when applicable, formal orders that guide care.

Advance directives encompass both who will make decisions for you if you can’t, and what kind of medical care you want in the future. The best answer reflects that range: it includes a healthcare surrogate or proxy who can decide on your behalf, a living will that states your treatment preferences, and physician orders that implement those preferences in concrete care like DNR (do not resuscitate), DNI (do not intubate), decisions about artificial nutrition and hydration, and a comfort measures only (CMO) order that prioritizes relief of symptoms over life-prolonging treatment.

A living will specifies what treatments you would or wouldn’t want, given certain medical situations. A healthcare surrogate is someone you appoint to make decisions for you when you’re unable to communicate. The practical side comes from orders such as DNR/DNI and CMO, which translate your wishes into actionable medical orders, including whether to provide or withhold life-sustaining interventions or hydration/nutrition.

The other options are incomplete because they either focus on a single element (only a living will or only a DNR) or wrongly imply that merely having medical records constitutes the directive. Advance directives are a combination of documented preferences, appointed decision-makers, and, when applicable, formal orders that guide care.