Finding clarity by completing advance directives

This post was written by Teri Reading, BSN, RN, Medicare Wellness Clinic.

As a Parkview wellness nurse, part of my responsibility is to provide conversations about advance care planning (ACP). These are crucial conversations where we explore your goals, values and preferences that help you decide what kind of treatment you would want provided in the event you couldn’t speak for yourself. This could address a critical, yet resolvable situation, as well as end-of-life care.

National Health Care Decisions Day is an annual initiative celebrated on April 16 to encourage and empower people to begin or continue conversations about their wishes for care through the end of life. Today, in honor of National Healthcare Decision Day, I would like to share with you my thoughts and experiences surrounding some of these conversations and what it means to me to be an ACP facilitator.

To become an ACP facilitator, training and certification are required. It provides the facilitator with the framework to guide these conversations, share our unique perspectives, and present thought-provoking situations that hopefully aid in making important decisions. These decisions include end-of-life care and treatment, as well as designating someone who could speak for us if we couldn’t speak for ourselves. The end goal is feeling prepared to complete an advance directive and having this form included with your medical information.

ACP facilitators are provided with the tools that help guide these important conversations. However, I’ve learned to customize the conversation to match the needs of each person. My goal is for everyone to feel comfortable and be able to share openly as we discuss these sensitive topics.

Some people come in feeling very prepared to complete an advance directive. They might have discussed this with family or friends prior to our visit and decisions have already been made.

Even so, during our conversation they may decide more thought needs to be given to these decisions and an additional visit might be in order. This can be an emotional conversation to have as we explore prior end-of-life experiences with family or friends. These experiences will often contribute to the decisions they make for their own future care. Many have fears or concerns when it comes to talking about end-of-life care. They fear that not enough will be done to save their life if they have chosen to opt for no additional treatment if a physician believes they will not recover. Another concern is to be kept alive but not be able to once again experience what they value most in life. Some have concerns about who to designate as their healthcare agents; can this person make a tough decision at a tough time, and will they honor the patient’s wishes even if they don’t agree with them? These are all legitimate fears and concerns and the very reason these conversations are so important to have prior to a time when these decisions need to be made.  

I found myself in this situation when I had to make a crucial decision for my son when he could not speak for himself. An amazing ICU physician provided the time, kindness and knowledge I needed for clarity to make this tough decision. But what gave me peace about the decision I made were the many conversations I had with my son prior to this moment. Times when he shared his goals, his values, and his preferences with me. Helping someone else find peace and clarity when it is needed most is my motivation and why I love being an ACP facilitator.

Completing an advance directive is a gift we give to our families, and it ensures your wishes are known and honored. Help us provide you with excellent care by telling us what matters most to you! The Parkview Health Advance Care Planning team is here to help and can be reached at [email protected] or 260-266-1481.