Advance Directives, Surrogate Decision-Maker Disagreement, and Religious Commitments

Advance Directives, Surrogate Decision-Maker Disagreement, and Religious Commitments Devan Stahl and Tyler Gibb Dr. Birgitta Sujdak Mackiewicz shares a haunting clinical ethics consultation case that raises issues about advance care planning, the preferences of a patient and surrogate decision-makers, and religious commitments. Every patient brings with them a complex set of interests, wishes, values, and commitments. How should healthcare decisions be made when these all come into conflict? <figure class=" sqs-block-image-figure intrinsic " > Dr. Birgitta Sujdak Mackiewicz, PhD, is the Regional Director of Ethics at OSF Healthcare, in Central Illinois. She has a doctorate in Healthcare Ethics from the Gneagi Center for Healthcare Ethics at Saint Louis University. Before taking on a Regional role, she was the Director of Ethics at OSFHC Saint Francis Medical Center and Children’s Hospital of Illinois for 15 years. Some of Dr. Mackiewicz’s Publications:Birgitta Sujdak Mackiewicz &amp; Stephen Thompson (2017) When Trust in God Means Preemptive Refusal of C-Section, The American Journal of Bioethics, 17:1, 94-96, DOI: 10.1080/15265161.2016.1251639Birgitta N. Sujdak Mackiewicz (2016) Good Ethics Begin With Good Facts, The American Journal of Bioethics, 16:7, 66-68, DOI: 10.1080/15265161.2016.1180447More Reading about Jehovah’s Witness Beliefs and Healthcare:Thomas McCormick (2008) Ethical Issues Inherent to Jehovah’s Witnesses, Perioperative Nursing Clinics, 3:3, 253-258 DOI: 10.1016/j.cpen.2008.04.007West, James M.. Ethical issues in the care of Jehovah's Witnesses. Current Opinion in Anaesthesiology 27(2):p 170-176, April 2014. | DOI: 10.1097/ACO.0000000000000053Ally McInroy, Blood transfusion and Jehovah’s Witnesses: the Legal and Ethical Issues, British Journal of Nursing, 14:5 DOI: 10.12968/bjon.2005.14.5.17663