What do you think about nurses having power over life or death?

It makes me worry when i hear that nurses could have the power to save or let you die, what if they don't take a liking to you, it reminds me of Hitlers Death Camps, and shame on the Government, whats this world really coming too.

Sorry to Thatlady but i cannot agree that all nurses do the best for the patients and why?, well ive had bother in the hospital with nurses over my wife, that led to a big fracus, and my best friend in a Bupa Home cannot always get her medication correct from the nurses there, and they acted racist to me when approached even about another subject, the trouble is i cant afford to take them to court because costs are too high. Its all very well for you to mention dentists ect.. but ive had my teeth pulled just because of a dentist wanting to make more money, as for the burger man, hes not one who has life or death decisions to make , its soon the nurses as far as i know and how many are really capable to make that decision then live with that mistake, or will it all be hushed up.Sorry but i still believe the Government are just trying to save money by passing the buck to lesser people as so to speak.

Not too sure where you are from or what kind of hospitals you have there...........
The nurses I know, and I know many, may take a dislike to a patient and wish they didn't have to care for them ormay feel terribly sorry for a patient who is suffering and whose life is being prolonged but will never be saved, but would never act on those feelings and end a life. On the other side of things, they can't/won't prolong a life where the family has given a DNR order but the nurse doesn't agree.
True, you do read a crime book or two or see a movie or two about lethal nurses but I would worry more about a spouse than a nurse.

Their is a code of ethics, I don't think they want to lose their job.

Hi I am a registered Nurse and its really pissed me off, I mean they keep on giving us more Dr responsibility but do they friggin pay us more for the extra workload and stress NO!!! I cant wait to leave.

playing "god" is a hard role.
i think nurses should have some say but, not total say.
that's what doctors are for.......
also the dying persons family should have over all say.
if they have no family, then i think it goes back to the doctor.

For the terminally ill I agree with it, my mom died of breast cancer and we watched her suffering in pain, it was too late for a cure for my mom and I so wish the nurses had been able to make that decision for her.

It is totally outrageous.

They are not sufficiently qualified to decide if a patient lives or dies.

What ever next?

That's a little paranoid. I though all health professionals were bound by the Hippocratic oath or something similar. As far as I know, nurses are meant to act in ways that improve your quality of health and life...regardless of how they personally feel about you.

Nurses have to take an oath, like Doctors, to ensure that they will provide the best care that they possibly can while you are in their care. All we can do as patients is just hope and pray for the best. I think that nowadays that is why it is getting harder for nurses to get their license, so that instructors and the nursing board will that this something that you really want, and are not doing it just for the money.

Why worry only about nurses? Why not worry about the people who supply our water? What's to keep anyone of them from putting strychnine in it? What about your dentist? What if he decided to make your filling have more mercury than other metal? What about the cooks at the restaurants? Don't you see? Life is a gamble? We hope in the inherent good and decentness of all people that we depend on for so many of our needs. And we can't live our lives worrying about whether or not our number is up and we're the one that the nurse, doctor, dentist, cook, water supplier takes a dislike to. So try to think the best. Most nurses are good people. They have all kinds of background checks done on them before they even get into nursing school. If there's something strange about a nurse, the other nurses will see it and report him or her. So, worry more about the unstable person who serves you hamburgers for minimum wage and didn't need a background check to get the job.

I'm sorry you've had a bad experience in the hospital. I understand what it means to have medical professionals not listen to you, and yet we are dependent on them. But I still think that most won't decide to end your life just because they don't like you. I do think that you could get less attention if they don't. But you have more power than you think you have. If you don't like the care you're getting, go to the nursing supervisor and give specific information. If the nursing supervisor doesn't listen, then go to the patient advocate in the hospital. You have to be specific though, you can't just go in there and say, "My wife is getting bad care because this nurse doesn't like us." Tell what happened. Write things down so that you have it clear. One thing for sure, doctors and nurses are not gods. They are people like you and me who get tired and frustrated and make mistakes. There are procedures in place that are supposed to keep mistakes from happening, but nevertheless they still can. So, be vigilant about your care and the care of your family members. Ask questions in a polite and concerned manner. And if you don't understand the answer, ask until you get an answer you're satisfied with.

There are plenty of nurses who kill off their patients prematurly for the feeling or power. I actually wrote a superb acticle about it a few years back. It is amazing.

It's not just nurses, most medical professionals have the same situation, but speaking from a proffessional standpoint. I have saved people that I knew well and did not like them. It accually made me concentrate more on the care. Another reason not to worry too much is MALPRACTICE.

i think its a terrible idea i mean what if there is a bed shortage and just get rid of a few oap's just to make more room. No its wrong only god has the right to decide if we live or die.

I dont think it is right,as someone said they are not qualified for it.It should be left to the Drs.

I think that this is another cost cutting exercise by the government. Nurses can be trained, like doctors, to make these judgement calls.

And yes, I can imagine situations where nurses, because they are in closer contact with patients, might not revive one if they "don't take a liking to you". As doctors tend to be more removed from patients this is less likely to happen with them.

No-one should have that power, or be given that responsibility. Only God has that right!

My mother is a RN and it seems that the doctors only make a cameo and give the rest of the job to the nurses. Nurses work there tails off, and allot of them are not appreciated as they should be. Some may not like that doctors give them such responsibility's, but Many are up to the challenge. And for you to say it is like a death camp is wrong and rude. Maybe you just need to walk a day in there shoes to see how ignorant that question sounds.

As long as the nurse who makes the decision is senior and very experienced, I have no problem with this !

It makes me worry too. I have worked in hospitals and nurses dont know as much as people think they do.
I wouldnt trust them and I think deciding whether someone should be resucitated or not should lie with the patient or their family. NOT nurses.

wrong. I don't agree with it.

I cant beleive some of the responses to this question, nurses and doctors save your lives, and they are repayed with insults and deemed incapable.
At the end of the day doctors only train for 2 years longer than a nurse so they are not that expert.

I am a nurse and i personally dont feel experienced enough to take on that decision at this point in my career, however nurses that have worked and had 20 years experience cant make a decision whether someone is dead or not and a jumped up freshly qualified doctor can, that is wrong.
And at the end of it all a nurse may now be able to confirm death but a doctor still has to certify it anyway.
Also what you may or may not have known before this if you wished as a nurse you could do a course in certifying death for years before this new stuff came on by the government, so there have been nurses certifying deaths for longer than you realise

I think the actual patients should have the decision - say, as part of their will or something, they say that if that does happen, if getting better is a possibility they want to live, if they are just going to get iller, then they don't want to live. Or whatever.

Or if they aren't mentally sound or to young, their closest living relative should be aloud to decide.