The comparision of Iranian Physician and Nurses attitudes towards Do- Not- Resusciate Orders

Abstract:Background and AimDecision making process about Do- Not-Resusciate (DNR) order is unique, since, it is the only treatmentdecision that should be taken in advance. Most physicians and nurses are not sure whether and when to makea decision about DNR order and its moral aspects. The current study is performed to compare and investigatenurses and physicians attitude about DNR order for patients in their final phases of life.Materials and MethodsIn this descriptive–comparative study, 152 physicians and 152 nurses have been studied. The samplingmethod was stratified sampling. The data gathering tools were a demographical questionnaire and a attitudequestionnaire about DNR order.ResultsThe nurses and physicians in this research with averages of 3.25 for nurses and 3.22 for physicians, had apositive attitude about DNR order. But there was no significant difference between the attitude average scoreof the physicians and nurses about DNR order (p>0.5). Nurses and physicians with experience ofparticipating in implementation of cardiopulmonary resuscitation and DNR order, had more positive attitudetoward DNR orderConclusionsThe findings suggest that there is no difference between the physician’s and nurse’s view about DNR order.Although there is a significant relationship between former experience of participating in implementation ofcardiopulmonary resuscitation and DNR order with positive attitude about DNR order.KeywordsCardiopulmonary resuscitation; Physician; Nurse, Attitud