In pursuit of an artful death: discussion of resuscitation status on an inpatient radiation oncology service

Goals of work Consensus has emerged among health practitioners, legal experts, clinical ethicists and the public that end-of-life decisions should be the shared responsibility of physicians and patients. In discussion of withholding cardiopulmonary resuscitation in cancer patients, however, opinion remains divided. We performed a quality assurance investigation on the use of the ‘do-not-resuscitate’ (DNR) order on an inpatient radiation oncology service to determine how often DNR orders are accompanied by a description of informed consent.