“Leave Me Alone, I Want To Die” Topic of Catawba Valley Medical Center’s January ‘Conversations in Ethics’ January 10, 2008 Catawba Valley Medical Center invites healthcare professionals and the community to attend the next ‘Conversations in Ethics’ to be held from 12 noon to 1 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 24 in the Northwest AHEC Lecture Hall, Room 112. This monthly, no-charge meeting provides an opportunity for discussion of some of the most important issues facing the healthcare profession today. The discussion topic for January is “Leave Me Alone, I Want to Die.” Laura is a 35-year-old woman who was found by her parents in her bed moaning and close to unconsciousness. Laura, who had been living with her parents for about six months, left a note in the room explaining that she had carefully considered her life, what was happening to her and that she wanted to die. There was evidence in the bathroom that she had taken three bottles of different pills including barbiturates. Emergency Medical Services was called and she was taken to the nearby hospital emergency room. The physician was presented with the note and the bottles. Since the patient was not fully unconscious, he began the procedure to remove the contents of her stomach. During this process, Laura became briefly more responsive and cried out that she didn’t want the tube, that she didn’t want any treatment, and that she wanted to be left alone and allowed to die. She moaned that she had left a note--which read she wanted to die--and she meant it. When her parents were told about what she had requested of the physician, the family urged that the doctor continue treatment. The physician realized that if she had consumed the pills in the bottles she would most likely not survive without medical treatment and yet it seemed clear that she did not want any treatment. Discussion of this case study may include the following: What should he do next? Should the doctor stop treatment and let her die? Does the principle of patient autonomy apply here? Can the doctor continue treatment against the consent of the patient? Must the physician be required to participate in completing a yet uncompleted suicide attempt? A free lunch will be served to those who register no later than Tuesday, Jan. 22, by calling Glenda Fowler at 828-326-3365. Catawba Valley Medical Center, Department of Organizational Learning is an approved provider of continuing nursing education by the North Carolina Nurses Association, an accredited approver by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation. Completion of this activity provides 1.0 contact hour. Catawba Valley Medical Center is a not-for-profit, public healthcare system providing and promoting the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual well-being of the public in addition to serving as a center for health education, wellness services, preventative medicine and acute care. CVMC, recognized by the American Nurses Credentialing Center as a Magnet facility, was recently named a Hospital of Choice by the American Alliance of Healthcare Providers.