End Of Life Care Essay

Sometimes the transition from critical care to end-of-life care is instantaneous, and the urgency associated with end-of life decisions for these children creates challenges for the nurses providing this care. Therefore nurses whose day-to-day practice focuses on saving lives, a sudden or even gradual change in a child's situation to end-of-life care can cause a disconnect between what nurses routinely do in the ICU setting and what they are now expected to do. Fewer studies could be located that has examined the effects of educational program on nurses provide end of life

To begin educational resources are limited without prior knowledge of the palliative care discipline within the medical community. Many rural areas are lacking the proper tools to implement palliative care conversations with families of chronically ill patients partly because the providers are lacking the education about what services are available. Many palliative care facilities

Children’s hospice care is a form of a palliative care which is provided to children who are expected to live six months or less (). They relieve pain and other symptoms that cause discomfort so that each day can be lived to the full. The families feel being supported emotional, social, practical, psychological and spiritual by the staff. The staff supported families during their difficult time and during the days when there are no longer with their loved ones. They were not alone all the time when they need anything a member of multi -professional team will be there for them for example supporting them with funeral expenses, social fund and ensuring that brothers and sisters are being supported on their grieving moments. A grief specialist

The present-day misconception of palliative care possibly comes from the circumstance that palliative care was used interchangeably with hospice care until the 1980s. (Clark & Seymour, 1999). Clark and Seymour (1999) extensively write on the beginnings and evolution of palliative care. They describe the progression of palliative care as a whole and explain the movement from palliative starting out as supplemental care to terminal patients to the concept division of palliative and hospice care. They describe the differences in each and explain why palliative is its own concept that differentiates from hospice care. In 2002, the World Health Organization defined palliative care as “an approach” that increases the quality of life of

Hospice’s main focus is on the patients and their needs. As shown on www.nhpco.org, the website for the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, their vision for patients and families is one where individuals and families facing serious illness, death, and grief will experience the best that humankind can offer (National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, 1). With this in mind, those who are involved with Hospice work to provide patients with relief from their symptoms and try to lift the weight off of their shoulders, also known as the Palliative Care part of Hospice. Hospice care involves a team-oriented approach, where members of the organization will work together to ensure the the patient, and their family as well, receive compassionate care (National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, 1). This includes physical care, such as pain management, emotional care, such as relieving stress, and spiritual care. Emotional and spiritual

It is my recommendation that the health care community implement a network of resources for parents who are not willing to accept and grieve but are willing to accept and fight to prolong the life of their child. Resources and information should be readily available to assist with any type of services that would bring relief for situations ranging from housing to therapy. Medical professionals also should be required to take a course in patient relations giving some insight into the emotional turmoil that many parents experience. This probably would change some parent’s perception of the medical profession because discretion and empathy would be used when providing information about the child’s condition. Any feelings of hopelessness may be eliminated and replaced with feelings of relief

“Each year in the United States, approximately 50,000 children die and 500,000 children cope with life-limiting conditions” (Varela et al., 2012, p. 171). According to the Department of Health children’s “palliative care is centered on services that cater for young patients with a range of life-limiting and life-threatening conditions” (Department of Health (DH) 2008, Spathis et al 2012).

Palliative Care for Children: Enhancing the Quality of Life for a Child with a Life-Threatening Illness

Before I started this class I thought palliative care was only used as end of life care, or for when a curative treatment was unavailable or had failed. As we learned about the different models of care, and how they have changed over the years, it became evident that the use of palliative care has changed drastically over the past several decades. In the 1800s to 1900s, palliative care was only used once the patient had reached the dying stage, and only included the patient in this care, not their families1. Before taking this course, this is what I thought of palliative care as well. Since the late 1900s though, palliative care has been used in a more proactive approach. From the moment an individual receives a life threatening illness, palliative care begins. This includes caring for the family of the patient as well. This care increases as the patient’s illness progresses, and even continues for the family after the death of the patient. Learning this has really made an impact on how I would like to work as a

Palliative care is a relatively new approach to medicine and involves identifying and reliving suffering of patients who are either terminally ill, or experiencing a debilitating chronic or life-threatening illness (Arnold, 2004, p. 6). Having a valid will and living will is especially important for those under Palliative Care because it helps make your wishes known so you don’t have to put your family members in a position of deciding your medical fate or with the difficulty of handling your estate if you die (Cheeseman 877). Professionals and doctors can help advise you about end of life options, if the need arises, and Palliative Care specialists will help guide you and your family with procedures to help alleviate pain or suffering along with spiritual guidance and support for families through the bereavement period if the patient dies.

Palliative care education can provide nurses with the skills needed to assist oncology patients during the end of life process. Palliative care eases symptoms and relieves suffering that is caused by life threatening conditions (Johnston & Vadeboncoeur, 2011). Does palliative care education assist nurses in the treatment of oncology patients during their end of life process? This process is needed within all oncology units because the end of life process is such a delicate and sensitive time for not only the patient, but also their families. There are many important aspects that go into palliative care education for oncology nurses, these include: the general understanding of palliative care,

Identifying the need for pediatric palliative care has been a challenge for medical practitioners. According to (William T. Basco, 2008) a study surveying physicians and nurses at one West Coast academic medical center in the United States showed that the most commonly reported barrier to optimal end-of-life care was uncertainty about the prognosis of the child, considered significant in 54.6% of the sample.

Good post this week. Dying is a normal part of life, but death is often treated as a disease. As a result, many people are suffering alone, to die in the hospital. Palliative care is primarily focused on treating the symptoms of patients with diseases that threaten the expected prevention, diagnosis, and patients with serious or life experience, and to help their families is an important medical decisions. The ultimate goal of treatment is to improve the relaxation regardless, both patient and family quality of life for the diagnosis. Although palliative care approach to end of life and keen role of palliative care focuses aggressive symptom management and psychological focus on social support, unlike hospice care, it does

Key importance of the palliative care approach in nursing is for it to be responsive, rather than

Palliative care in the field of pediatrics is an area of care which aims to improve the quality of life not only for children who have life-threatening illnesses, but also addresses the well-being of their families as they embark on this stressful journey with them. This is done by taking into account four main areas of the patients and their families: psychosocial, emotional, spiritual, and physical. The main goal is to not treat the illness itself, but to help in relieving the suffering of those affected taking into account their body, mind, and spirit.1 Palliative care is still a relatively new field of care in pediatrics, especially in pediatric oncology. Palliative care was originally used in pediatric oncology as strictly end-of-life care, but this form of care is starting to move into the realm of supportive care for these individuals.2,6-8 This is where I plan to focus my study. I am interested to see if the time of implementation of palliative care plays a role not only in the patient and their family’s overall quality of life, but also if there is any link to survival rates of the terminally ill children when palliative care is started earlier and coupled with curative care.