“It seems like a story about dying, but actually it is very much a story about living.”

1.  “It seems like a story about dying, but actually it is very much a story about living.” -Stan Curtis-

2. Should Physicians- Assisted Suicide be made legal throughout the United States? Joshua Blair

3. Physicians- Assisted Suicide • Only legal in three states, Oregon, Washington and Montana. • Oregon was first and Washington followed. • Not “technically” legal in Montana. • People generally view it as “Euthanasia.”

4. Guide Lines • The patient must be mentally competent. • The patient must be terminally ill with less than 6 months to live, verified by two physicians. • The patient must make voluntary requests, without coercion. • The patient must be informed of all other options including palliative and hospice care.

5. Moral and Religious views • Only physicians who agree to participate are obligated to be involved. • Many choose not to be involved based of their Religious views. • Other physicians choose not to participate because they just believe its wrong.

6. My research on Physicians- Assisted Suicide lead me to shadow my mentor at work and also have her teach me medical practices for my product.

7. Shadowing • My first step was to find a nurse to shadow, which just so happened to be my mentor. • My mentor had to ask her boss if this was something I could do. • Once her boss agreed I began to go with her to work and see what its like inside the hospital.

8. Jobs • Since I’m not medically trained, I could not follow her into the OR. • In the mean time I would talk to other nurses or even people in the waiting room. • Other times I would even help make beds or clean up empty rooms.

9. Learning • My mentor taught me basic medical procedures, such as vital signs. • She taught me things like how to measure blood pressure and different areas to listen to pulses. • She also taught me what she does for a living by using her old notes and books from Duke.

10. Angie Kinmann • My mentor was Angie Kinmann. • She is a nurse anesthetist and works at Nash General Hospital in Rocky Mount. • She attended Duke University where she got her nursing degreeand went on to become a nurse anesthetist. • She was the nurse I shadowed while doing my product, except in cases where she had to enter the OR.

11. Challenges and Successes • Procrastination • HIPAA Laws • Patient Confidentiality forms • Talking with patients • Spreading knowledge of PAS • Finding a nurse to shadow

12. What I learned • General Medical procedures. • How to talk to people. • What the inner workings of a hospital are like. • How delicate anesthesia is. • The hospital is a very hectic place.

13. Thank you for your time, do you have any questions?