This author’s personal perceptions concerning patients facing a lingering terminal illness, have been shaped by over 20 years of critical care nursing experience. Facing death and illness on a daily basis requires self-examination and a high degree of comfort with one’s own mortality, limits and values. Constant exposure to the fragility of life forces respect for the whole person and the people who love them. A general approach to patients who are actively dying is to allow them to define what they want and need during this time. The nurse’s role
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.
One of the hardest situations someone can endure is death. The death of a loved one, friend, and even an acquaintance can be tough for most. Healthcare professionals are told from day one not to “Not get too close and attached.” however, that is easier said than done. I currently work as a CNA in the memory care unit at an assisted living facility. In this home, we assist with any and ass activities of daily living, such as bathing, feeding, and dressing our residents. Working so close with these residents, it is difficult not to get to know and adore them, anyone in this particular field will tell you that I myself have a few of them. One resident in particular really held a special place in my heart. I would start my shift and head straight
Death can be a hard topic to talk about, especially for a new terminally diagnosed patient and their families. Grieving is the most widely known processes and almost everyone has gone through it. It is important for us as nurses to get to know our patients and provide them with their communication and grieving need, as we are the one’s they spend the most time with them and who they look to for answers. It important to see changes in our patients even the smallest and report these changes to the physician as it could be more than what we think such as complicated grief and
2009). Nurses view that it is essential to form a relationship with the patient in order to provide care for the dying. It depends on the level of engagement of the nurse on how easily or how hard she can cope with the lost a patient (Shorter & Stayt 2009). Some nurses immersed themselves and put themselves on the patient’s shoes in order to develop that connection often times they would even asked relatives how the patient was like when he/she was still well. The significance to the staff is also influenced more if both the caregiver and the patient shared the same demographics and culture. On the contrary some nurses try to distant themselves and try to avoid being too close to the patient and the family to shield them from grief. Nurses view patient death in two ways (a). Good death and (b). Bad death.( shorter & Stayt 2009). A good death is when the nurse is prepared and knows that death is imminent. The nurse has an idea on how the course of the treatment will be,it is therefore deemed less traumatic for them. Bad death happens when the demise of the patient is sudden. Feelings of regret and guilt plagues the caregiver, often wondering what could have been done to avoid death.
Dying and grief are natural occurrences, from the beginning of time both have been a transition in living. Over the course of history, medical advancements have changed the life expectancies and processes in which people are experiencing death and dying. In today’s society having a loved one live with a terminal diagnosis for an extended period of time is increasingly replacing sudden and unexpected death as the norm. Death itself has become less of a sudden and unexpected event. In its place has come a common process that begins with a terminal diagnosis, which proceeds through a period of treatment (or treatments), and ends eventually in death. This process now means that both the terminally ill individual and their family are confronted
It is a truth well acknowledged that there will come a time when every doctor will have to face the death of their patient. Whether their patient was much loved, tolerated or was barely known does not matter, but how the doctor or medical student deal with their passing is important. Yet death is a natural process and something that doctors and medical students are expected to struggle through and learn from. Depending on their speciality and experiences doctors experience a variety of different emotions, difficulties and strategies to cope with death of patients and these will discussed.
People are different in this world they are different in excepting and dealing with the bad news. When it comes to death it is very unbleavaibel thought ,when a person find out that he have only a few days to live in this life ,death is very common an all ages and all the times .death is bad news and it is very difficult to be known especially for the nurse .it is very stressful for her to take care of people who are facing death ,so it is important for a palliative nurse to know how she can handle the person who is facing death and how she let them live their rest of their life in peace without any pain and fears of what is coming .how the nurse can make the family except the death and coping and what they should do in this stage .what
In conclusion, death and dying is a part of life that everyone will continue to experience through out their lifespan. As much as people would to spend the rest of their lives with their loved one forever, it is impossible. The only thing we can do is to push pass our pain and continuing living for those who could
A researcher draws attention on why it is important for patients to have conversations with their doctors and states that, “Medicare’s plan comes as many patients, families, and health providers are pushing to give people greater say about how they die whether that means trying every possible medical option to stay alive or discontinuing life support for those who do not want to be sustained by ventilators and feeding tubes (Belluck).” People prefer to pass away in their house or hospice, or in any situations that patients desire essential medical care. There are four areas that a dying individual needs which are emotional and mental, physical comfort, spiritual issues, and active tasks. Someone who knows that they are close to dying are clearly sad and worried. Having conversations about their emotions might be advantageous. Physical contact with family members and the medical team are more connected and more interactive in cooperating. As patients begin to receive discomfort, it is most likely due to skin displeasure; pain; weariness; temperature reactivity; digestive and respiratory problems (Emanuel). Also, due to spiritual issues, a patient would want to finish things off in a good place with everybody they had associated with. It is also pleasant for patients to practice their religion by praying or communicating with someone in their
End of life tends to be a difficult conversation for patients and their families. The reality of living, is that one is born and will eventually die. Due to the
Death may be seen as one’s final journey in life. As defined by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary (n.d.), death is the permanent cessation of all vital organ systems, specifically the circulatory and respiratory systems. Throughout the dying process, nurses play a vital role in caring for both the patient as well as their family. In order to properly and effectively care for the dying patient and their family, the nurse must first examine their beliefs and feelings regarding death and the dying process. It is important to have a deep understanding that while all people may experience grief with the loss of a loved one, how that grief is expressed may be influenced by many different factors. This paper will define and explain the bereavement period, the nurse’s role in disenfranchised grief, as well as the four tasks of mourning.
During the past year, many health care workers have been worried when caring for patients at the end-of-life stage. Despite death is certain, it is a challenge to our society as well as to the medical services to withhold or stop resuscitation which is one of their responsibilities. Death remains as less pleasant topic and least talked about, but when our beloved one’s choice to die at home and order a DNR healthcare providers should respect and follow the patient and his/ her family last wishes especially if the patient condition is terminal and been through physical and emotional stress.
A nurse's or caregiver's own perception will certainly affect the care she will provide to a dying patient. She needs to accept that death is a certainty and, therefore, unavoidable. But the kind or manner of death one will go through is not certain and can thus be controlled (Hess, 2009). Statistics say that at least half of all American adults die a bad death. A bad death is characterized by needless suffering, some form of dishonor, a lack of decency and treatments, which are senseless, unwanted and costly. Moreover, other issues swarm the situation of the dying patient. If the nurse approaches the patient and his condition with a realistic but positive perception about the quality of life and health, she will definitely contribute much to his achieving a good death. A good death is achieved when it is devoid of all avoidable suffering and hurt for the patient, his family and his caregivers. It occurs according to his wishes and his family's. And it transpires according to clinical, cultural and ethical norms (Hess).
Watching someone die is a situation I will never get used to. I know it is part of life and part of nursing as well. I feel nurses help guide their patient’s in healing and even the end of life stages. Nurses are advocates the patients and offer a hand to help in comforting. Death can be uplifting knowing the patient is able to let go and they are no longer in pain. As someone passes, they look peaceful, relieved and happy which is a beautiful and heartbreaking all at the same time.