With advanced medicine do you think it is a positive thing to keep the elderly alive even though they do not?

have any quality of life. I am a nurse on a Geriatric floor. It seems that Doctors take heroic measures to keep people alive when it is there time. What are your thoughts on this complicated subject. I not saying to kill people at all. What I'm saying is we should let people go peacefully. We all need advanced directives to tell people about the care u want before it's too late.

i am a cna and have worked in nursing homes for 7 years. sad to say but unless you are of sound mind and your own poa it doesnt matter what advanced directives you have ultimately the decsion is up to your family or who ever has power of attoreny. i have held many hand on the way to dieing and it is a very honoring experince to know i could be there when my resident needed me the most. yes its sad and for most elderly there quality of life isnt that good but a lot of factors play into that no i dont think people should be kept alive just because there loved ones cant let go but then also dont see all the pain and suffering i see i think somtimes its down right cruel the way some familys handle there dying or severly ill family members but thats why i dont what i do to make there life the best i possilkby can . i start every day with my resident with hugh and kisses because that affectioin they miss i try to do everything i can to make them happy and thats what counts as long as they are happy then i know ive done my job. i work with mostly elderly with dementia and yet they still reconize me because i with them everyday they are always treated like my grandparents not pacients and in the end when they have given up and there bodys can take no more nothing can bring them back so try not to dwell on weather or not the should be alive just to what you can to make what life they have as good as you can while your with them .

That is definately a tough topic. Yes, it is hard to let go but If keeping them alive prolongs their unhappiness or suffering then I think they should be let go peacefully.
An idea I thought would be EXTREMELY helpful.. is to make it by law that people (as early as teen years) should provide documentation about if they decide they want to be kept alive or let go under whatever circumstances.

It's supposed to be our choice, isn't it? To treat ourselves or not? It seems messed up that doctors try to play god when there's already a plan in place. I'm not saying to kill anyone either, but when someone is in bad health, and 80+ years old, why torchure them?

I agree that everyone should have an advanced directive on file, and not just the elderly.

It's cruel to force someone to stay alive. We should have the choice to allow ourselves to die without medical intervention.

I think the elderly should be allowed to enjoy the remainder of their lives. I live with my elderly grandparents, and my mother is an RN in a geriatric Nursing home, and honestly I think the only medicine to "keep the elderly alive" is love and laughter. It makes life worth living for them to be able to wake up and know that they have someone out there thinking about them and hoping they stay healthy.

Personally, I feel the primary indicator of 'quality of life' is the ability to communicate. When all hope of communication on any meaningful level is gone there is no point in just continuing to exist, it wastes the families money and the medical resources of the hospital. However, if there is a reliable hope of future communication (again, on a meaningful level) then keep them alive. I know that is what I would want for myself.