Abstract
This study is a descriptive research in investigating the perception of doctors and nurses with regard to DNR, and data were collected through survey questionnaires. The period of collecting data was between July 15 and October 30, 2004, distributing 128 questionnaires to 128 participants, and a total of 110 questionnaires from 55 doctors and 55 nurses were collected (86%)among 70 different hospitals. The collected data were analyzed using SAS program to get real number and percentage, and were also analyzed with $X^2$-test. The Study Results are as follows: 1. Respondents who agreed with the necessity of DNR was 97.27%, the reasons of DNR necessity were 59.20% of 'impossibility of recovery in spite of lots of efforts,' and 35.20% of 'for the purpose of choosing a comfortable and dignified death,' and 97.2% of respondents answered that it was necessary to give explanation of DNR to serious case patients, terminal patients and their family. 2. Problems derived from DNR decisions were 44.44% of 'lack of treatment and nursing,' 21.11% of 'guilty conscience about failing to do best efforts,' and 71.57% of CPR implementation right after DNR decision. 3. Reasons of implementing CRP for patients with DNR decision were 50.94% of 'for the presence of family and relatives at the point of patient's death,' 20.76% of 'guardian's change of DNR decision,' and 16.98% of 'no communication for the consent after DNR decision.' 4. With regard to who was to make DNR decision? there was a difference in the opinion between doctors' and nurses' group while the group of doctors chose 'by the consent of the family and the doctor in charge,' and the group of nurses chose 'patient's intension,' and with regard to Have you received DNR related education? and Will people who want DNR increase if there is explanation given? there was a difference between the two groups. 5. In the catholic institutions, respondents of 71.7% said that it was necessary to take DNR depending upon the situation, and 73% said that they had performed DNR before. 6. In the institutions with over 500 beds, 91.92% of respondents said that there should be an establishment of guideline book as a written format to implement DNR. From the results of this study, it was found that DNR was implemented and executed broadly in clinical fields in the absence of necessary instructions and/or guideline, and that DNR order was placed to the group of doctors who got less opportunity for proper education than did that of nurses.