Foreshadow's Letter To Addow

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

Most often when someone approaches the end-of-life, pain management is a priority. The relief of pain is an important ethical duty in health care. However, relieving pain is easier said than done. The myths about opioid addiction and sedation are some of the complicated hurdles for family member to get over. It is the duty of the health care professionals to educate family that pain relief is necessary for the peaceful passing of their loved one. Providers must dismiss any myths and false facts family may have and reassure them that prescribing sedative and narcotics is ethical. As health care professionals we want what is best for our patients and we do not want to do any harm to those who are at the end of their lives. In my opinion, making the patient comfortable and letting them go in peace is the right

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.

This ensures that the clients receive necessary interventions that are beyond the nurse’s scope of practice. When considering how to help each client and their family, a nurse needs not to go further than to simply ask. For acting as guides, this book provides valuable tips on how to walk with clients and their respective families through the dying experience. When a nurse acts as a guide, he or she must be able to combine his or her intuition with knowledge and communication skills in order to lead patients and their family in this last and difficult journey. Striving to become as competent and compassionate as one can, a nurse could leave a huge impact in the lives of the dying and those who are being left behind. Nurses are not only present to provide compassionate care but are also there to help the patient leave an everlasting legacy that their loved ones could never forget. Everyone who is involved with end-of-life care, whether they are part of the health care team or a family member, can truly benefit from reading this work. The patients themselves can benefit as this book can assist them to better understand what they are going through and become more aware of how much help is out there for them. This book has several strengths. Every chapter (or major topic) begins with a small anecdote or narrative of a patient’s dying experience. These narratives often involve nurses and family members. These

By spending time in IPU, I hoped to gain a better understanding of the process of death – from recognising the final hours of life, death, and communicating with the family. A patient was identified to me by the consultant on ward rounds as approaching death. I was asked to observe the signs from the patient, so these could be discussed with the doctor in depth. Some of the signs identified were a cachexic appearance, terminal agitation, Cheyne stokes respiration and reduced alertness. Over the next few hours the patient was monitored closely until they died that afternoon. Before the patient died, I was also able to sit in on the consultation

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

1.Coping with death and dying Helping patients cope with death begins when they receive their diagnosis. Patients should have as much information as possible, balancing the truth against psychological harm. As an American study shows, it’s unethical not to involve patients in decisions about their care. (McCabe MS, Wood WA and Goldberg RM, 2010) The Five Stages of Grief was propounded by Dr Elisabeth Kübler –

The stages if grieving are denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. As nurses we know what entails in each stage, but it takes a lot for a patient to get from denial to acceptance and they sometimes need our help with getting them there. To help lessen the burden of the grieving process the nurse can involve the family if the patient is okay with it, but it is important to keep in mind that they are going through the grieving process as well. Watch for cues that the patient maybe displaying such as; peacefulness, saying good bye to loved ones, new fears, helplessness, withdrawal, anxiety, and vision alterations. These cues should be addressed to the patient in a soft manner to see if the patient would like to talk about their feelings on leaving this earth.

Working in a healthcare field one tends to see families, friends and the ones they care for, go threw the grieving process. With the occupation in this field comes the process of the end-of-life. The dreaded, sometimes hateful and saddest part of our job. This process never comes easy and

Modern medicine and technological advances have made the concept of dying even more uncomfortable as a subject to be addressed by doctors, their patients, and the families of the patients. Conversations about death are necessary to have in advance with family members, healthcare proxies, surrogates, and even doctors. Unfortunate situations happen every day and a person never will know when they need to rely on someone else to carry out their wishes about end of life care and technology. If a person happens to become brain dead, it adds a whole other level of difficulty when it comes to end-of-life procedures.

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.

This paper will focus on the importance of communication between health care professionals and the patient/family during end of life and how this seemingly basic necessity is a quality requiring much more development within the educational realm.

Being given a chance to care for the patient who is on palliative treatment is very meaningful to me. I am so glad to have this experience on my fresh start at clinical placement. It is my first time to encounter and to care for someone who has serious illnesses. Even though, I am not related to this patient my heart is breaking to see him suffering from pain and gasping for his breath. The client is a very nice guy. Despite the pain he is feeling, he managed to smile when I was talking to him. I can see him fighting for his life. The nurses and other people within the health care team are giving their care, comfort and support to the patient and family. The family and friends of the patient also visit him in the facility. There were times that patient decided to not go with his appointment such as the mental aerobics because he was feeling really tired and weak. The patient gets tired very easily with movement such as turning position and lately he preferred to stay in bed to lay down. He also has difficulty swallowing and cough is always present with his eating. The patient loss weight and his appetite was reduced. He is going through a lot of difficulty and pain. Whenever I see him, I always remember my grandfather who passed away at a very young age and had to go through a tough time. I am doing my best to give him comfort at this moment. I also encouraged him to eat to gain the energy he needs.

Today, issues in regard to death are not discussed or are barely discussed. However, each and every individual has their own view of how death should occur, and that would be, death that is not painful and in the presence of a dear one or loved ones so to say. As it may be the case, some individuals die as they would have wanted, and on the other hand others do not. Those that do not may have gone through uncalled for tremor. In a survey carried out by the NHS, about 43% of those people that had lost loved ones indicated that the care rendered to their loved ones at the end of their lives was marvelous while 24% indicated that the care to their loved ones at their end of life was not exceptional or good for that matter (Health, 2013).

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.