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I have heard the sentiment before that ICU doctors would rather die than go through the ICU. Couple this with PTSD being a common side effect from ICU care and

I have heard the sentiment before that ICU doctors would rather die than go through the ICU. Couple this with PTSD being a common side effect from ICU care and it starts to make a picture that maybe death is just the way to go.

jessriedel 3y ago
No. This is not at all a representative opinion among ICU docs.
- sithadmin 3y ago
  Definitely not a universal opinion. But it seems pretty common among my physician friends to have fairly specific advance directives that choose death over prolonged (or any) ICU stay in worst-case type scenarios. They keep bugging me to set something up like that for myself.
  - jessriedel 3y ago
    I am not just saying the original claim wasn’t universal, I’m saying it’s at most a tiny minority opinion (because it’s so extreme, taken literally). “You should put your wishes in an advanced directive so you don’t suffer in the ICU in ~hopeless situations” (true) and “there are a non-negligible number of cases where the suffering in the ICU is not worth the modest life extension according the patient’s own values” (also true) and “the balance between life extension and quality of life errs, on average, too much toward the former” (plausibly true) are nothing like “the ICU is worse than death for most people”.
gcanyon 3y ago
I spent a month in the ICU many years ago. I have the benefit that the trauma was front-loaded (motorcycle accident) so not too many horrible things happened to me in the last three weeks (although getting re-intubated ranks pretty high up there), but I don't have any hint of PTSD from the experience. N=1 and all that...
deadbabe 3y ago
Doctors live very stressful lives from which there is often no escape until they finally retire someday. It does not surprise me that many would choose to just die ASAP if something bad happened to them.

jessriedel 3y ago

No. This is not at all a representative opinion among ICU docs.

sithadmin 3y ago
Definitely not a universal opinion. But it seems pretty common among my physician friends to have fairly specific advance directives that choose death over prolonged (or any) ICU stay in worst-case type scenarios. They keep bugging me to set something up like that for myself.
- jessriedel 3y ago
  I am not just saying the original claim wasn’t universal, I’m saying it’s at most a tiny minority opinion (because it’s so extreme, taken literally). “You should put your wishes in an advanced directive so you don’t suffer in the ICU in ~hopeless situations” (true) and “there are a non-negligible number of cases where the suffering in the ICU is not worth the modest life extension according the patient’s own values” (also true) and “the balance between life extension and quality of life errs, on average, too much toward the former” (plausibly true) are nothing like “the ICU is worse than death for most people”.

gcanyon 3y ago

I spent a month in the ICU many years ago. I have the benefit that the trauma was front-loaded (motorcycle accident) so not too many horrible things happened to me in the last three weeks (although getting re-intubated ranks pretty high up there), but I don't have any hint of PTSD from the experience. N=1 and all that...

deadbabe 3y ago

Doctors live very stressful lives from which there is often no escape until they finally retire someday. It does not surprise me that many would choose to just die ASAP if something bad happened to them.