5/21/2014 – Do Not Resuscitate: What Young Doctors Would Choose

Dr. V.J. Periyakoil is a faculty affiliate of the Stanford Center on Longevity.

The researcher was presenting her findings to a room full of geriatricians, at the American Geriatrics Society annual scientific meeting last week in Orlando, Fla. So a slide revealing one particular statistic didn’t cause an audible gasp or murmur. Talking to geriatricians about end-of-life treatment practically defines preaching to the choir, as a member of the audience told me later.

Among other kinds of doctors, or the public, this number might be more surprising. Dr. V.J. Periyakoil, a geriatrics and palliative care specialist at Stanford University, was talking about her survey of nearly 1,100 physicians who were completing clinical training at two university-affiliated medical centers.

Read the full article at The New York Times.