Hypothetic Reflection Paper

I have learnt that even though a patient has died; communication, dignity, respect and advocacy is still fundamental. I have also learnt that last offices are carried out differently depending on the individual’s religion. Before this experience, I assumed that it would be carried out the same, I now know to make sure to check the patient's notes and research their religious belief on last offices in the future. I have realised that the care given to individuals of different religions may also differ during all aspects of care not only after death.

To begin, there are many aspects of helping patients that are dealing with grief, loss, death, or dying. Whether the patient has lost someone that was close to them or they themselves are dying, the situation is quite fragile. Some important aspects that may help when handling these patients are knowledge about the different cultures and their beliefs and traditions, different factors that have an impact on grief, and how to communicate with people living on the edge of life. These are all extremely important matters when it comes to such a sensitive situation.

Multiple family members gather together to give care to the loved one from far and near. The father or the oldest male relative holds the greatest power in most families to make health-related decisions for an ill loved one. Family members feel responsible for bathing, changing, and feeding their loved one daily even during hospital stays (Taxis, 2008). In addition, prayer and ritual are also critical components of the dying process. Family members may pray with the patient at the bedside, at a home altar, or at church. At times, candles are kept lit for 24 hours a day as a symbol of continuous worship. Clergy members may visit to offer spiritual support. As the ill loved one approaches death, the sacrament of anointing of the sick is administered by a priest or lay member (Kemp, 2001). Mexican American families use religious beliefs in the afterlife to help them cope with this emotional process.

It is customary for the entire extended family to visit the dying loved one in shifts. Intense emotion is expressed and encouraged.

By listening and being socially supportive for individuals who experienced a significant loss is very important. Also, our society should give people a significant amount of time off to spend with family and cope with the death of a loved one. I believe people need to be more empathetic when interacting with individual’s who lost a loved one.

We then walked outside and stood by the hearse and watched them carry him out, with the sons and family carrying, they loaded him into the hearse. We then proceeded and walked to our car in the motorcade, it took nearly 10 minutes to reach the cemetery. Everyone then lined up on the road and stopped by a blue tent, under it laid chairs and a place to roll the casket

My own loss sparked a desire to help others through tough times. I therefore began volunteering at the Orlando Regional Medical Center, where I consoled people going through those times, and let them disclose their feelings with tears and words the way I needed to when I was in their shoes. Unfortunately, I also met people who were dying and had no visitors to support them through their death. For instance, I visited a woman on several occasions and shared a few laughs and stories with her. She ultimately died from C. difficile over a period of three weeks in the hospital. At those moments, I was glad patients like her had someone with them, even if I was a stranger to them. Still, there were much happier occasions where families learned their sons and daughters and parents were alive, recovering, or asking for their company. Through all this, I recognized the fear and pain they felt, and helped them move forward. Care, compassion, and empathy are all

Family members play a big part of providing care to a patient, rather it be comfort, or education, I would involve them in my patient care. To me, the patient isn 't just the "person" laying in the hospital bed. Every person has values that need to be respected and nurtured.

There are many cultural and religious beliefs in the world in which many individuals base their end of life care according to those beliefs. As a nurse it is important to be aware of the different varieties of religious and cultural beliefs and be open minded when caring for these individuals. It has been shown that individuals who are dealing with end of life are better able to cope and have a better overall experience when their cultural and religious practices are respected in the healthcare setting.

I think about the new routines she developed, like how she would visit the cemetery on Sunday mornings. I think about how much they meant to each other and how they supported each other. I think about them sitting and having intimate dinners, joyous movie nights, and celebratory anniversaries. I assume these things because of how devastated she is from the loss of her husband. I can only hope that she continues to find comfort in the memories she shared and is able to hold them as part of herself and carry them as a form of strength. Any loss, it is hard to imagine it ever becoming easy. I use this thought to contextualize my future interactions with families of the patients I will encounter and reflect upon it to give me a glimpse of how I would want my physician treating me in such vulnerable

Jewish culture as a whole is extremely tight-knit and involves family, as well as the community, especially at the end of life. One nursing intervention the nurse can focus on, is allowing the family members to be in the room to make everyone more comfortable. This can get hectic, but most of those within the Jewish culture do not want a dying family member to be alone. This is primarily because their soul could get lonely if they were to depart with no one around (Giger, 2013). In the event the family member passes away, there will be someone with them, so this won’t

Viewing: Viewings allow friends and family to gather together and pay tribute to the deceased. They are usually held at a funeral home or place of worship. The body will be present, and the family may choose to have an open or closed casket. Visitations are traditionally held the evening before the funeral, although some families decide to hold them a few days earlier.

Most of the time they both are in a funeral home or a church and there will be, depending on your religion, a pastor or priest there to talk during the services. During these time the family of the deceased are being comforted by friends and relatives. The children depending on their age at this time are the ones morning the most because they have known this parent for their entire lives. Since children are the ones that mourn the most it is a duty of the widow or of their new legal guardians to help them through the grieving process, whether it be: hugging, talking, or getting professional help. They will be the ones with the most impact from the death because they are the youngest and will have to carry the long- term effects for the rest of their lives. The worst thing that we can do is neglect to help them at that time in their life they are looking for guidance from anyone, they need a way to cope with their feelings and want someone to comfort them. All of these issues presented: (comforting them, guiding them, talking to them, and even giving them ways to cope with it) can all be settled through spirituality and a close relationship with a religion. God can provide all those thing, you can talk to him when you don’t know what to do or unclear on how to feel. He can comfort you in ways that only he can, and he can guide you to the ways to cope with the

Priests, Ministers, Clergy members and People of the Cloth are usually involved in your end of life care. The faithful can support the ill with education on their beliefs about life, dying, death, and afterlife. Clergy aids in support for the family in regards to being an advocate within the medical system for their religious beliefs, and spiritual care. They can also be a big help with advanced directives, estate planning, grief and bereavement counseling and burial planning (EndLink 2004).

In pursuing this further, there are several aspects to this topic; such as, preplanning, financial planning, cost, and the surviving family members. Funeral planning is something we all will have to do at one point in our lives, but where should we begin? It is a good idea to start with the preplanning of the funeral. Preplanning is crucial; it provides piece of mind, especially for surviving family. As said earlier, discussing one 's mortality is an extremely uncomfortable topic; however, by preplanning a funeral, it will relieve the family of having to make important decisions during a period of immense stress and grief. Furthermore, preplanning gives time to explore the options for a ceremony and allows time to discuss the financial aspects. It also gives a chance to choose a funeral home that best suit ones needs and budget.