If you ask the children of EOL patients whether they'd want aggressive treatment for their parents, I'd bet they'd in general be way more interested in it than the parents themselves too. In fact if the children landed in the ICU, I'd bet the EOL parents would also be more interested in giving their children aggressive care than themselves.
> How much of this is anything beside human nature?
Experience. Having seen it before. All the way through. Many times.
Yes, an MD fresh out of medical school might react just like anyone else: try to preserve/prolong life of their loved ones at all costs. Once they've worked in the ICU for even a few months? They swear they'd never do that to a loved one.
If you ask the children of EOL patients whether they'd want aggressive treatment for their parents, I'd bet they'd in general be way more interested in it than the parents themselves too. In fact if the children landed in the ICU, I'd bet the EOL parents would also be more interested in giving their children aggressive care than themselves.
How much of this is anything beside human nature?