-
101. Case: A Question from Family About Outcomes
View Case Study: 101. Case: A Question from Family About OutcomesYou are caring for a patient following a severe stroke. The attending physician has been very clear with the family that it is unlikely that the patient will survive and that, if he does, it will be with very significant impairments. Still, the family takes any movement or facial change as an indication that he…
-
92. Case: End of Life with Dementia
View Case Study: 92. Case: End of Life with DementiaMr. Shah lives in a continuing care facility. A nurse recently commented; “My patient, Mr. Shah, has an advance directive that he wrote last year and that requests medical assistance in dying when he is no longer able to recognize his wife. His dementia has worsened quickly and recently he’s asked who his wife is…
-
90. Case: What is Best for Angela?
View Case Study: 90. Case: What is Best for Angela?Angela Flores is a six year old with some minor developmental delays caused by traumatic birth. She has recently been diagnosed with a brain tumor and her prognosis is poor. The health care team is trying to determine goals of care and a develop treatment plan. Angela lives with and is cared for by her…
-
85. Case: Adam’s Story
View Case Study: 85. Case: Adam’s StoryAdam Snowdon, a 16 year-old Sydney boy, was diagnosed with ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) 18 months ago. The disease has progressed rapidly over the past three months and over this period Adam has quickly begun losing the ability to use his right arm to the point now where it is no longer effectively functional. He…
-
67. Case: What is Angela’s Choice?
View Case Study: 67. Case: What is Angela’s Choice?Angela Flores is a six year old with some minor developmental delays caused by traumatic birth. She has recently been diagnosed with a brain tumor and her prognosis is poor. The health care team is trying to determine goals of care and a develop treatment plan. Angela lives with and is cared for by her…
-
66. Case: Blood Transfusions
View Case Study: 66. Case: Blood TransfusionsJoyce Skinner is a 38 year old woman with non-curative leukemia. She is the single mother of two children, ages 11 and 8, and her ex-husband is ‘out of the (parental) picture’. Since her leukemia diagnosis, Joyce has approached her progressive hematological cancer in an assertive manner, seeing it as her responsibility to fight to…
-
47. Case: Collegial Responsibilities
View Case Study: 47. Case: Collegial ResponsibilitiesYou are a pediatric critical care specialist working in the ICU taking care of a newborn infant who suffered a severe, prolonged reduction in blood flow to his brain at the time of birth. The consulting neurologist has indicated that the infant’s prognosis for functional neurological recovery is very poor in the unlikely event that…
-
37. Case: A Question of Resources
View Case Study: 37. Case: A Question of ResourcesJoyce Skinner is a 38-year old woman with non-curative leukemia. She is the single mother of two children, ages 11 and 8, and her ex-husband is ‘out of the (parental) picture’. Since her leukemia diagnosis, Joyce has approached her progressive hematological cancer in an assertive manner, seeing it as her responsibility to fight to stay…
-
29. Case: Complicated Caring
View Case Study: 29. Case: Complicated CaringMr. Sundown is a 78-year old African Nova Scotian who is a patient in an internal medicine clinical unit at the Halifax Infirmary. He has a variety of serious medical conditions including diabetes, coronary artery disease, and advanced COPD. He is experiencing progressive respiratory failure on the basis of a difficult-to-treat pneumonia. Mr. Sundown has…
-
28. Case: Mind the Gap!
View Case Study: 28. Case: Mind the Gap!Mrs. Hardriver is admitted through ER to a general surgery unit for emergency surgical management of an acute small bowel obstruction secondary to her advanced colorectal cancer. After surgery, Palliative Care is consulted and they agree to admit Mrs. Hardriver to their service. As there is no palliative care bed available at the time of…
Case Repository
Category: End-of-Life Decision-Making
Sign Up For Our Newsletter
© © 2026 Nova Scotia Health Ethics Network.
All Rights Reserved.