Dear Patient:

I am so sorry that I broke your ribs last night. I really wish I hadn’t. You see, someone made a decision on your behalf that if you stop breathing, we won’t put you on a ventilator, but we will do chest compressions if you don’t have a pulse. The problem is that when you stop breathing, your pulse will eventually stop. I am sorry someone did not do a better job of explaining this to you and your family.

I could tell by looking at you that you were trying to die and if it were up to me I would have just knelt down and held your hand and let you die in peace. But it wasn’t up to me at all. You weren’t even my patient.

I think you might have gone to heaven because as a I looked up at the monitor and watched your heart slowing down, I felt that prickly, tingly chill go all the way up and down my spine.

I hope you are resting in peace.

Sincerely,
A Nurse.

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Dear Resident:

Please don’t ever go to bed without clarifying a code status.

Sincerely,
A Nurse.

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Seriously, can anyone think of any situation where it makes sense to code someone with an irreversible disease who does not wish to be intubated?