Physicians and surrogates should take patients' preferences into account in making clinical intervention decisions, even if the patients have been found to lack decision-making capacity.

Physicians and surrogates should take patients' preferences into account in making clinical intervention decisions, even if the patients have been found to lack decision-making capacity.

Physicians need to manage expectations and clearly explain the prognosis of ICU patients to their families, particularly when the outcome is a negative one.

Physicians should develop a specific strategy for talking to relatively healthy patients about their CPR preferences in the event they become seriously ill in the future.

Follow simple rules, such as checking whether patients comprehend what they’ve been told, to help patients overcome barriers posed by clinical jargon.

Not all cultural traditions have the same conception of personhood. In Confucianism, self-individuation takes place only through engagement with others in the context of one’s social roles and relationships.

Family presence during resuscitation of a child remains controversial and disagreement persists about whether and when potential benefits outweigh risks.

Physicians need to manage parental treatment decisions when the decisions conflict with medical judgment.

Physicians need to manage parental treatment decisions when the decisions conflict with medical judgment.

In cases where a parent is denying life-saving medical treatment, physician paternalism can step in to help provide the proper care to the patient.