Withdrawal of the Care in the Emergency Department

Wednesday, April 9, 2025

2:00pm – 2:20pm ET

Location: Trade - Lobby Level

CE: 0.25 CME Credit

Speaker(s)

Melissa Myers, MD, FAAEM

Associate Professor, Military and Emergency Medicine
Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences, Hébert School of Medicine
Rockville, Maryland

Disclosure(s): No financial relationships to disclose

Disclosure(s):

Melissa Myers, MD, FAAEM: No financial relationships to disclose

You've just intubated a patient, when the family shows up with the Do Not Intubate order. They're asking you to remove the patient from the ventilator which you know will result in the patient's death. What's your next step? Is this even in your scope of practice? In this lecture, we’ll discuss the ethics of withdrawal of care in the Emergency Department with a focus on practical steps to ensure care in accordance with the patient and family’s wishes.

Learning Objectives:

After this session, the learner will be able to identify the key ethical considerations involved in the withdrawal of care in the Emergency Department.
After this session, the learner will be able to evaluate describe steps to ensure that the care provided aligns with the patient's and family's wishes.
After this session, the learner will be able to determine whether the withdrawal of care falls within their scope of practice.