Published
A DNR (and any other similar document) won't be seen as legally bonding unless it contain some defining words. One of mandatory phrases is: "I, such-and-such, being over X (state dependent) years old and in my right and clear mind...
This is also the reason why advanced directives must be notarized to become active. Forms can be downloaded for free all right, but notarization/witnessing still must happen.
I'd seen people bringing crumbled pieces of paper torn from school notebooks on which their parents supposedly wrote that they would wish to be allowed to die or kept alive indefinitely. It just didn't work like that.
Nurse SMS, MSN, RN
6,843 Posts
What is the common viewpoint for resuscitation/continuation of life sustaining measures if a patient arrives via ambulance after a suicide attempt and they have left a very detailed note about many things, one of which is instructions to family and medical providers not to sustain life?