End Of Life Caregiver Case Study Essay

Q1: Complete the following table, describing the needs you would have to consider when planning the different aspects of end of life care for an individual

This is why treating the person with dignity and respect is vital in end of life care in case of an individual with dementia.

Death is inevitable. It is one of the only certainties in life. Regardless, people are often uncomfortable discussing death. Nyatanga (2016) posits that the idea of no longer existing increases anxiety and emotional distress in relation to one’s mortality. Because of the difficulty in level of care for end-of-life patients, the patient and the family often need professional assistance for physical and emotional care. Many family caregivers are not professionally trained in medicine, and this is where hospice comes into play. Hospice aims to meet the holistic needs of both the patient and the patient’s family through treatment plans, education, and advocacy. There is a duality of care to the treatment provided by hospice staff in that they do not attempt to separate the patient’s care from the family’s care. Leming and Dickinson (2011) support that hospice, unlike other clinical fields, focuses on the patient and the family together instead of seeing the patient independent of the family. Many times in hospitals, the medical team focuses solely on the goal of returning the patient back to health in order for them to return to their normal lives. They do not take into account the psychological and spiritual components of the patient’s journey and the journey that the family must take as well. For treatment of the patient, Leming and Dickinson agree that hospice does not attempt to cure patients, and instead concentrates solely

1.1 Caring for patients at the end of life is a challenging task that requires not only the consideration of the patient as a whole but also an understanding of the family, social, legal, economic, and institutional circumstances that surround patient care.

The process of deciding when a terminally ill patient should die lies within the patient, family members, and the

In today's society, one of the most controversial issues is physician-assisted suicide for the terminally ill. Many people feel that it is wrong for people, regardless of their health condition, to ask their health care provider to end their life; while others feel it is their right to be able to choose how and when they die. When a physician is asked to help a patient into death, they have many responsibilities that come along with that single question. Among those responsibilities are: providing valid information as to the terminal illness the patient is suffering, educating the patient as to what their final options may be, making the decision of whether or not to help the patient into death, and also if they do decide to help,

In a Netherlands report it tells, “Many physicians who had practiced euthanasia [form of assisted suicide] mentioned that they would be most reluctant to do so again” (Stevens 189). Everyday these physicians are faced with decisions of how to best save their patient. Now they also, have to determine if they can come to terms with ending their lives. The impact on these physicians is tremendous. Kenneth R. Stevens the Vice President of Physicians for Compassionate Care concludes, “Doctors who have participated in euthanasia and/or PAS [Physician-Assisted Suicide] are adversely affected emotionally and psychologically by their experiences” (187). Physicians, who have made the decision to help, face the consequences of their actions. They have helped someone take a life, even if it their own. Death always leaves an impression. Imagine what it must be like to be directly involved with a death. Those men and women in time will have to come to terms with their participation in Physician-Assisted Suicide.

As a patient advocate, the nurse should engage in multidisciplinary support to help family understand the legal aspects and obligation of the power of attorney in making life end decisions and the legal obligations of the Advance Directives. Nurse must be firm in stressing these considerations to family so they may realize the full legal and ethical implications of their decisions.

Physicians assisting in suicide deaths are not productive in this area because some not trained in this field of expertise. Moll assert, doctors, are of little help. They have no training in how to discuss end-of-life issues with families and patients, so they avoid the conversation and call on other staff trained in this area. (88) Moll also points out, "people wants to be cared for, even if they do not want every possible procedure performed on them." (88) The best thing for people to do is discuss their end-of-life arrangements before major decision making is needed so the doctors, hospital staff and family members would not have to deal with the stress of this situation.

While examining the issue related to end-of-life decisions raise both legal and ethical concerns. The issues may be accountable by a number of issues like who the patient is, who has legal competence to determine what course of action is in the best interest of the patient, Pennsylvania state laws, the values of the patient or the patients parents, and the counselor of the patient providing the services. Standard A.9.c reports counselors have the option to break or not break confidentiality in this situation. Throughout the decision making process, Clinical Mental Health counselors need to be engaged in consultation or supervision since the professional has legal, ethical, and moral dirty to warn when the suspect their client may be in danger (Newsome, Gladding, Pg. 68)

Overall it was a socking video, since in the beginning everything was clear that caregivers were guilty based on the bruises that they were finding it on the child’s face or body, so they immediately made a decision on who is guilty because the caregivers were the last people who were with the baby. However, everything turned out the opposite of what the judges were judging the caregivers. Not every bruises appears on the baby’s body can be a sign of abuse. Based on the video the lawyer or the judge was mentioning that after the child’s dead if we cannot prove the cause of the child’s dead the caregiver is the one who’s guilty, which I think it’s not correct, instead of making wrong statement about the caregivers they should search more on

Nurses play a key role in providing end of life care to hospice patients. This palliative care can help the patients increase their quality of life and therefor also change the course of their illness (World Health Organization [WHO], 2015). United States of America is home to individuals who come from various cultural backgrounds and some of these individuals end up requiring palliative care. With the rise of the vast American population originating from different countries, it leads to the question if nurses of multicultural backgrounds can provide end of life care practices differently. Research Question Are end of life care practices provided differently by nurses of multicultural backgrounds?

There are many factors that play a role when caring for the seriously ill and the dying patient that can cause a patient to experience a good death or a bad death. According to the Institute of Medicine’s Committee, a good death is described as “one that is free from avoidable distress and suffering for patients, families, and caregivers; in general record with patients’ and families’ wishes; and reasonably consistent with clinical, cultural and ethical standards” (Lawhorne, 1999). However, a good death does not mean a perfect death or a problem free death, but is to respond to the patient physical needs, suffering, and to support the family that ensures a good death (Ferrell & Coyle, 2010). The purpose of this paper is to do a case analysis on the care of a patient who is facing death or has died. The Framework of a Good Death by Emanuel & Emanuel (1998) will also be incorporated into the case study analysis to evaluate whether a good death was achieved or not.

Culturally appropriate and sensitive after death care should be provided, irrespective of the situation or the setting. This begins with communicating the news of the death to the family and caregivers, early and in a sensitive manner. The primary team should be informed. The news should be communicated in a calm and private environment. The family should be given adequate privacy, space and support. It is essential to take inputs from the family regarding after death rituals. Verification and certification of the death should be done at the earliest and every effort should be directed at smooth and dignified exit of the patient from the hospital31

Usually either patients or families have the legal rights to determine what medical course to take with the patient when it comes to the diagnosis of death, in this case the family's conflict needs be considered. The healthcare staff involved in the patient’s care must communicate with the family members during this difficult time. If the patient is determined to be dead, the family will need support from the health care staff that has been involved in the patients care, all available hospital resources, including medical, nursing, social work, ethics, and pastoral care will be a good resource for the family members. Lawyers will usually advise health care staff to work with the family in the most compassionate way possible, the lawyers should be there to help with any conflict between the family members, and this will also help the organization against any future malpractice suits against the health care staff and organization.