Define Advance Directives

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Much thought and consideration given to issues surrounding end-of-life care depend on clear communication and understanding of those issues. That being said, discussion of what an advance directive means to a patient is necessary in order to produce familiarity with the subject as well as generate public interest in the formation of advance directives. By definition, advance directives are “Instructions that indicate health care interventions to initiate or withhold, or that designate someone who will act as a surrogate in making such decisions in the event that we lose decision-making capacity” (Burkhardt & Nathaniel, 2008, p. 277). Through these instructions, patients may express, either verbally or in writing, their wishes in regards to