Decisions near the end of life: professional views on life-sustaining treatments.

Abstract

In summary, many physicians and nurses were disturbed by the degree to which technological solutions influence care during the final days of a terminal illness and by the undertreatment of pain. However, changes in the care of dying patients may not have kept pace with national recommendations, in part because many physicians and nurses disagreed with and may have been unaware of some key guidelines, such as the permissibility of withdrawing treatments.