TY  - JOUR
T1  - REligious coping and life-prolonging care
AU  - Levin T
Y1  - 2009/07/15
N1  - 10.1001/jama.2009.1004
JO  - JAMA
SP  - 257
EP  - 258
VL  - 302
IS  - 3
N2  - 
To the Editor: In the study of the association between religious coping and receipt of mechanical ventilation by Dr Phelps and colleagues,1 I take issue with how the end-of-life goals of care were framed. “Preferences for heroics” and “do everything possible,” as used in this study, are terms that are strongly discouraged in the communication training laboratory in which I work. These are value-loaded medical metaphors that are prone to misperception. A physician may understand that they refer to futile end-of-life treatment or cardiopulmonary resuscitation, but a patient may not have this shared perspective.

SN  - 0098-7484
M3  - doi: 10.1001/jama.2009.1004
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/jama.2009.1004
ER  -