"End of Life" Care

What can we learn from our veterinary counterparts? An important discussion in today's BMJ between veterinarians and physicians on comparability & differences in ethics. The ethical problems facing doctors and vets obviously differ in some ways. A veterinary surgeon, for example, can decide when a treatment is no longer valuable and opt for euthanasia. This course is not open to doctors. A shared issue was that of consent. Humans can give consent to invasive treatment near the end of their lives, but what about a sick old pet whose owner wants it kept alive even though it might be better off dead? Are there parallels with a doctor who is faced with an incapacitated patient?