CPR: To do it or not?

What’s your take on resuscitation? Are you all for it, against it, or does it just depend on the circumstances?

I work as a nurse at a local hospital, and we recently had to perform CPR on a woman in her 90s because the doctor ordered it. To me, it feels pointless at that age. Honestly, I think she would have preferred to just pass away peacefully, but hey, who am I to make those calls? 🤷

The thing is, I’ve been thinking about it, and I don't even know where I draw the line. At what age does it stop being "saving a life" and start being "prolonging suffering"? When is it actually better to just let someone go? 🤔

So, what are your thoughts on this?

It shouldn't be up to some random doctor or nurse to make these kinds of calls based on how they're feeling in the moment. They have to follow established protocols and standard operating procedures.

Those rules exist because a whole group of experts and sometimes even the broader community worked together to figure them out.

In an ideal world, people should call their own shots when it comes to life and death. We can debate whether euthanasia is okay, or if the death penalty is acceptable when the state decides someone's fate after a major crime, but that’s not what we're talking about here.

You hit the nail on the head—it isn't your place to make life-or-death decisions for other people. I mean, did anyone even bother to ask that woman in her 90s if she actually wants to hang on?

Linda Hughes18 said:What’s your take on resuscitation? Are you all for it, against it, or does it just depend on the circumstances?

I work as a nurse at a local hospital, and we recently had to perform CPR on a woman in her 90s because the doctor ordered it. To me, it feels pointless at that age. Honestly, I think she would have preferred to just pass away peacefully, but hey, who am I to make those calls? 🤷

The thing is, I’ve been thinking about it, and I don't even know where I draw the line. At what age does it stop being "saving a life" and start being "prolonging suffering"? When is it actually better to just let someone go? 🤔

So, what are your thoughts on this?

It really depends—not on the circumstances themselves, but on the specific person involved. We are all individuals, after all, navigating our own unique lives and destinies. Because of that, I’ve always felt that you have to approach people on an individual basis rather than applying a one-size-fits-all rule.

Society, by its very nature, relies on a framework of established laws to dictate how individuals ought to conduct themselves—essentially defining the boundaries between what is permissible and what is strictly forbidden.

Our society is fundamentally irrational when it comes to these matters. On one hand, we’ll preach endlessly about how life is our most sacred value, yet on the other, we seem perfectly comfortable with the concept of mass casualties during wartime. It’s a strange, jarring contradiction.

I also suspect that the conversation often misses the mark regarding the actual importance of quality of life. In a situation like this—where an elderly woman is enduring constant, debilitating pain and feels she has nothing left to live for—it’s her own personal assessment of her situation. If she truly believes her suffering outweighs any remaining purpose, then I believe society should provide her with the dignity of being allowed to pass away.

Doctors and nurses find themselves in a rather difficult position. Regardless of their personal convictions or how they truly feel about a particular issue, they are strictly bound by the existing legal framework. It isn't really a matter of opinion once you're in the clinical setting; if they step outside the lines of the law, they face severe consequences—ranging from heavy fines to actual prison time. They have to play by the rules of the state, period.

It’s a heavy question, regardless of how old you are. I once dealt with a young patient in a truly dire situation. It was obvious there was no way out, and they were just suffering through unbearable pain—even attempting suicide while in the hospital. At that point, the doctors were essentially just prolonging the agony.

On the flip side, abandoning the "life at all costs" principle opens up a massive Pandora's box of gray areas. You run into issues with potential manipulation and endless lawsuits from grieving families. Even if a patient expresses their wishes clearly, those decisions can always be contested by claiming they weren't in the right headspace or that their statements were coerced.

What if we used a notarized advance directive specifically against resuscitation and life support in clearly defined scenarios? Something signed well in advance while the person is fully lucid, perhaps paired with a final verbal confirmation at the hospital bed if possible? 🤔

Linda Hughes18 said:What’s your take on resuscitation? Are you all for it, against it, or does it just depend on the circumstances?

I work as a nurse at a local hospital, and we recently had to perform CPR on a woman in her 90s because the doctor ordered it. To me, it feels pointless at that age. Honestly, I think she would have preferred to just pass away peacefully, but hey, who am I to make those calls? 🤷

The thing is, I’ve been thinking about it, and I don't even know where I draw the line. At what age does it stop being "saving a life" and start being "prolonging suffering"? When is it actually better to just let someone go? 🤔

So, what are your thoughts on this?

For or against?!!!
Why on earth would anyone be against attempting to revive someone? Setting aside concerns about suffering, personal vendettas, racial bias, and the like...

... or depending on the situation?

Fine. But that previous "for or against" 🤦... Good grief, Darwin, you scientist!
Is it really that hard to write just "for or depending on the situation"?

... I work as a nurse in a hospital and we recently had to resuscitate a 90-year-old woman on doctor's orders. To me, at that age, it makes no sense...

True. If she hasn't enjoyed life by now, another two hundred years won't fix it...
Are you sure you're a nurse and not, say, a medical stepmother (or some medical hack)?

Perhaps I overstepped. There are likely facts regarding this elderly lady that you neglected to mention...

(Though you could have easily fabricated a scenario or started with a hypothetical, rather than using a real, living human being... And without involving yourself in such an obnoxious manner.)

Linda Hughes18 said:What’s your take on resuscitation? Are you all for it, against it, or does it just depend on the circumstances?

I work as a nurse at a local hospital, and we recently had to perform CPR on a woman in her 90s because the doctor ordered it. To me, it feels pointless at that age. Honestly, I think she would have preferred to just pass away peacefully, but hey, who am I to make those calls? 🤷

The thing is, I’ve been thinking about it, and I don't even know where I draw the line. At what age does it stop being "saving a life" and start being "prolonging suffering"? When is it actually better to just let someone go? 🤔

So, what are your thoughts on this?

At that age, performing CPR almost always results in broken ribs, and frankly, I have serious doubts about what would even be left of that poor old woman.

"Elevating personal anxieties to the level of philosophical problems carries the grave risk of devolving into a sort of parochial metaphysics... something quite dangerous if it interferes with the true mission of philosophy, which is to understand being in relation to itself, rather than in relation to me" - Levi Strauss, Melancholy Tropes
It’s difficult to grasp this concept, especially when dealing with those obsessions that feel universal—those thoughts that seem like they ought to consume anyone possessing even a shred of self-awareness.

(John McCain, Freedom and Time)