Reference no: EM133706440

Question

Medicalization of aging conflicts with one's ability to self-determine one's narrative through aging. As individuals age, many medical issues can occur, especially as the individual draws closer to death. They can fall into comas or lose the ability to vocalize their wants and needs, for example, or be reduced to a state in which they are unable to process what is occurring around them. Because they can no longer accurately convey what they are thinking, their designated proxies or medical professionals (if no proxies were chosen) have to deduce what the next best steps are to care for the patient. In many cases, medical professionals choose to extend their patients' lives, which could conflict with the individual's true wishes but are not properly conveyed. In the case where proxies have been selected, these agents take the patient's last-said wishes and dictate the decisions that need to be made in the provision of care to align with the patient's narrative. Holstein believes a cultural revolution is due where the extension of life is no longer the primary goal once the patient is no longer able to communicate their choices. She suggests death is the natural end to life, so working to keep the patient alive for longer should not be the focus of medical professionals.