ABSTRACT
Protecting patients from unwanted treatments by allowing people to have a say in medical scenarios is the legal framework of advance directives such as a health-care directive or durable power of attorney for health care. Countertransference in health-care providers can arise from any number of professional and personal factors. Medical personnel may have unexamined feelings about their desires to be the heroes of a story as they use every means to extend and save lives. Emergency departments (EDs) and intensive care units (ICUs) are fraught with medical crises involving life-and-death situations. It is in these arenas of medical care that conversations about advance directives are most needed. Patients in the ICU inherently are experiencing life-threatening situations, often undergoing multiple procedures and life-saving or life-prolonging treatments. Primary care clinicians care for patients over their life span. They frequently establish deep, abiding relationships over the decades, coming to know their patients well and caring greatly for them.
