DO NOT Sign a DNR Order Before Reading This
A DNR (do not resuscitate) order means that efforts to revive a person will not be made in the event of cardiac arrest (the moment a person’s heart stops and breathing becomes impaired). Be wary. A DNR order may be misused or wrongly interpreted.
Once the decision has been made not to resuscitate a patient, there is the tendency to consider other treatments to be “futile,” resulting in the reduction of ordinary, beneficial care and treatment a patient wants, such as blood transfusions, antibiotics, intravenous lines, a ventilator, etc. Other frequent “side effects” of a DNR order are fewer visits from physicians and less nursing
care.