ABSTRACT
One person’s good is another’s evil.… Only critically reflective medical ethics and self-critical individuals of good character can offer some hope for the future. (Thomasma, 1998)
Personal responsibility and accountability are quietly assumed by millions of health care workers in the thousands of end-of-life decisions that occur daily in hospitals, hospices, and homes across the nation. Often, it is only in retrospect, when our memories and emotional experiences threaten to overwhelm us, that we ask ourselves the question: “Would we have acted the same or differently if we had been truly methodical in pursuing our conscious understanding of the issues?” What do we as health care workers bring to each decision-making point, and what do we carry with us after?
