A POLST form she signed, an agent who now wants intubation: HA550's Unit 9 end-of-life case weighs substituted judgment, Quinlan and Conroy, and the ethics committee's advisory role. Searches like "ha 550 unit 9 assignment example", "ha550 unit 9 sample" and "ha550 unit 9 example" land here.
What a finished HA550 Unit 9 end-of-life ethics case looks like
Around six pages. The facts come first, dated: the POLST completed at nursing home admission [two] years earlier in a documented conversation with the patient and her physician, the durable power of attorney naming her son, and tonight's respiratory failure. The document section explains what a POLST is, a portable medical order rather than an advance directive, and how it differs from the power of attorney, which names who speaks when she cannot. The standards section sets out substituted judgment, deciding as the patient would, ahead of best interests, and cites the New Jersey line of cases: Quinlan, which allowed withdrawal of a ventilator and pointed toward hospital ethics committees, and Conroy, which set tests for withholding treatment from incompetent nursing home patients. The ethics committee section explains an advisory consultation. Communication with the son closes the paper.
How a HA550 Unit 9 example is structured
Questions order the case, each answered before the next is asked. What does the POLST say, and whose wishes does it record? The answer rests on the documented admission conversation. Who speaks now? The son, as agent, because she lacks capacity tonight. By what standard must he speak? Substituted judgment, which asks what she would choose, not what he wants for her; best interests applies only if her wishes cannot be known. Can he change the POLST? Many state forms allow an agent to request a change consistent with the patient's known wishes, and the paper states that rules vary. Where does the committee fit? It advises, mediates and documents; it does not decide. A final section describes how the team would talk with a grieving son, since many such conflicts resolve through communication rather than confrontation.
What the POLST records
The orders completed at nursing home admission, and the documented discussion with the patient that makes them evidence of her own wishes.
Order, directive, agent
A portable medical order, an advance directive and a health care power of attorney distinguished, since each answers a different question.
As she would choose
Substituted judgment placed ahead of best interests, with the son's role framed as reporting her wishes rather than substituting his own.
The New Jersey line
Quinlan on withdrawing a ventilator and its nod to ethics committees, and Conroy's tests for incompetent nursing home patients, each cited narrowly.
A committee that advises
Consultation, mediation and documentation as the committee's work, with decision authority left where law places it.
The conversation tonight
How the team would speak with the son about his mother's recorded wishes, and what the chart should show afterward.
Where marks go in HA550 Unit 9
Sympathy for the son, described at length while the standards governing his authority never appear, is the usual failure in end-of-life papers. Graders look for the distinction between who decides and how, and a paper that treats the agent's current wish as controlling has missed substituted judgment entirely. Confusing a POLST with an advance directive is a frequent error, as is claiming a surrogate can never change one; state rules differ. Case law should be used for what it held. Quinlan did not create ethics committees by mandate, and Conroy's tests belong to one state, though widely discussed. Describing the ethics committee as the decision-maker misstates its role in most hospitals. A verdict with no plan for the next conversation with the family leaves out the step an administrator would actually oversee.
Get a HA550 Unit 9 example written to your instructions
Send the Unit 9 case your section assigned, including any documents it supplies, a directive, a POLST or a state statute, with the rubric. The analysis separates who decides from how, cites cases for what they held, and ends with the next conversation. First custom sample free; returned within 24-48h.
HA550 Unit 9 questions, answered
What is the difference between a POLST and an advance directive?
An advance directive is the patient's own statement of wishes or choice of agent, used when the patient cannot speak. A POLST is a set of medical orders, signed by a clinician, that translates current goals into instructions such as whether to intubate, and it travels with the patient across settings. The sample explains both and shows how they work together in the composite case.
Can a health care agent override the patient's POLST?
It depends on state law and on the patient's known wishes. Many states allow an authorized surrogate to request that a POLST be modified or revoked, but the agent is generally bound to decide as the patient would have, not by personal preference. The sample treats the son's request as a question about her wishes and routes the disagreement to an ethics consultation.
Does the ethics committee make the final decision?
In most hospitals it does not. Ethics committees and consultation services advise, clarify the ethical issues, mediate between family and team, and document their recommendations; decision authority stays with the patient's surrogate and the clinicians, within the law. A few states give committees a formal role in certain disputes. The sample describes the advisory model and notes that exception without generalizing from it.