Description

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Using the voices of ordinary people, clinical ethicist and nurse Dianne Godkin explores the end-of-life issues and emotions that arise when an individual sets out to prepare an advance directive (living will). Conversations with study participants, and the composite character of Alice, are forthright, practical, and uplifting. Written for individuals and their families who are thinking about creating an advance directive, and for healthcare providers who interact with these individuals, this book provides readers with a deeper understanding of the experience of preparing for the end of life.

About the Author

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Dianne Godkin has had a life-long interest in promoting the well-being of older adults. While studying to become a nurse, her first and formative professional caregiving experiences were with elderly clients in long-term care facilities and in the community. Today, as a clinical ethicist, one of her primary focuses is ensuring that older adults who are nearing the end of life receive care that reflects their wishes and is responsive to their needs and concerns.

John Dossetor is a physician, trained in the UK (Oxford and St Bart's Hosp., London) who came to McGill on a one-year Teaching Fellow appointment in 1955, after completion of two years as a Medical Officer with the Gurkhas, in India. He has lived in Canada ever since. The 13 years at McGill were followed by 27 years at the University of Alberta. Circumstances led to him co-ordinating the first kidney transplant in Canada (and the Commonwealth) in 1958. This directed him into a professional interest in Nephrology and Kidney Transplant Immunology and, later, to being Co-Director of the MRC Transplant Group at the University of Alberta. In 1986, there was a career change into Medical Ethics and the next 10-12 years were spent developing that area of interest. This led to the formation of the John Dossetor Health Ethics Centre, under the auspices of the Health Science Faculties in 1998. Since 1998, John has lived in Ottawa.