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Nurses must review and verify the patient's advance directive status with their first patient contact because an emergency life threatening situation like a cardiac or respiratory arrest can occur at any time with little or no time to review these documents at that time.

At any age, a medical crisis could leave you unable to communicate your own health care decisions. Planning now for your future health care can help ensure you get the medical care you want and that someone you trust will be there to make decisions for you.

A client asks the RN about the purpose of an advance directive. What is the RN's most appropriate response? ?It allows you to document your wishes about your health care.? ?It provides instructions for your care, should you become terminally ill.?

Advance directives Many people, including nurses, have specific ideas about what health care they want, or do not want, at the end of life. Advance directives are a means to allow people to convey their wishes for end of life care.

Ascertain whether the patient has named a health care proxy (e.g., orally or through a formal legal document). If the patient has not, ask who the patient would want to have make decisions should he or she become unable to do so.

A ?health care proxy? is the catchall word for anyone who makes medical decisions on behalf of a patient.

Types of Advance Directives The living will. Durable power of attorney for health care/Medical power of attorney. POLST (Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment) Do not resuscitate (DNR) orders. Organ and tissue donation.

Advance directives generally fall into three categories: living will, power of attorney and health care proxy. LIVING WILL: This is a written document that specifies what types of medical treatment are desired. A living will can be very specific or very general.

Reviewing and changing advance directivesYou can change your directives at any time. If you want to make changes, you must create a new form, distribute new copies and destroy all old copies. Specific requirements for changing directives may vary by state.

In some states, advance health care planning includes a document called physician orders for life-sustaining treatment (POLST). The document may also be called provider orders for life-sustaining treatment ( POLST ) or medical orders for life-sustaining treatment (MOLST).