Problem: The attending physician and the rest of the treatment team are opposed to placing the feeding tube. Their argument is that the patient has "minimal consciousness" and will not improve. They define this as a futile situation with no reasonable expectation of recovery. Furthermore, two nurses claim that during previous hospitalizations for episodes of cardiovascular events the patient told them that he would not want to be sustained by artificial means - not by ventilators, renal dialysis, or tube feeding. It is their position that the patient has expressed his preference to not be kept alive in a futile situation. Need Online Tutoring?