The Roles Of A Nurse

On reading this article and identifying the study, there was a clear insight on how death and dying, and even improved health, impacted those nurses (Conte, 2014). Nurses, who worked closely with their patients, through the perils and suffering, culminating of death and losses, had grief not readily explored to enable that comfort zone (Conte, 2014).

There are also many factors that influence these events and emotions such as personality, culture, religion, relationships, and the way in which the deceased passed away (Buglass, 2010, 44). Buglass (2010) refers to Stroebe and Schut’s “flexible” model of grief and explains that a person handling loss will experience lifestyle changes as a result of that loss. This is due to the dual manner of moving between grieving, and trying to come to terms with loss. This theory looks at grieving as a process that happens in everyday life. Other theorists, such as Freud, view grieving as a “solitary process” where mourners withdraw from the world around them and gradually deal with the loss they’ve suffered.

This paper examines the implications of grief, bereavement and disenfranchised grief. Grief in response to a loss is a unique experience and is expressed distinctively by every individual. It is helpful to have models that outline the stages of grief that need to be experienced in order to achieve acceptance. However, their utility is limited by the reality that grief is immeasurably complex and individualized. Veterans and children are two groups at risk of developing disenfranchised grief. Therefore, it will be important for nurses to be able to identify those suffering with disenfranchised grief or other forms of maladaptive grief so appropriate intervention may be employed.

Death is a part of life and eventually everyone on this earth will experience it. Nurses play an important role in death. Mourning the death of a loved one is something that almost everyone will experience in this lifetime because it is a natural response to death. Bereavement, grief and mourning are all effected by one’s culture, religion, the relationship with the deceased, personality, and how the person died.

Death is a universally experienced phenomenon. In the United States alone, over 2.6 million people die each year (Center for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2015). For practitioners, it is of utmost importance to better understand the process of grief to develop better interventions for bereaved individuals.

Cumulative grief is known as a caregiver’s emotional response to many episodes of grief (Shorter & Stayt). The multiple encounters with death give a nurse no opportunity to grieve adequately or completely for each individual patient that has died (Shorter & Stay, 2010). The unresolved grief accumulates and can lead to emotional and physicals problems which can then effect a nurse professionally and personally (Shorter & Stayt, 2010). The effects of cumulative grief include denial, feelings of decreased personal competency, overwhelming grief, low self-esteem, and pre-occupation with death (Shorter & Stayt,

This paper explores the emotional differences that people in the health care profession experience when it comes to the death of a patient. It defines the bereavement role, the four tasks of mourning, disenfranchised grief, compassion fatigue and how ambiguity and a lack of social acceptance can lead to decreased quality of patient care. In conclusion, the author offers an opinion of how to better manage the grieving and mourning process of care providers from an industry-wide standpoint.

Grief and loss are one of the most universal human experiences, though painful, and understandably causes distress. However, approximately 15 % experience a more problematic grieving process with elevated symptoms of depression and/or posttraumatic stress symptoms (Bonanno and Kaltman, 1999).There is no well-established model of the timeline for resolution of grief and the variance of its expression is wide. Many persons cope with the emotional pain of bereavement without any formal intervention. However, individuals who have experienced traumatic bereavement, such as deaths that are sudden, violent, or due to human actions (Green 2000), may face particular challenges. Researchers have tried to define a model for the treatment of traumatic bereavement that fully supports not only the client, but also those working with the clients around their trauma

Disenfranchised grief can affect an individual experiencing loss that is not societally recognized. A term originally described by Kenneth Doka, disenfranchised grief is classically defined by four components, and one specific population subject to experiencing disenfranchised grief is nurses. This is due to the predominant cultural values found in the nursing profession as well as the parameters of the nurse-patient relationship. Knowing that nurses are potentially vulnerable to disenfranchised grief, it is important to discuss the mechanisms to minimize the factors contributing to its occurrence and the consequences of its effects. Awareness of how to help oneself can then be utilized to increase efficacy in the nurse’s position and in aiding patients who are duly experiencing disenfranchised grief.

Grief is a process of dealing with the permanence of a loss or separation and how that occurrence affects one’s well-being (Nader & Salloum, 2011). This paper will discuss several types of grief, their characteristics, and the nurses’ role in recognizing and delivering appropriate interventions to help alleviate the disruptive nature of grieving. Grief in children, their perception of death and loss, and nursing interventions in dealing with the young population will also be discussed. Determining the types of grief patients and families experience through diligent assessment of history and grief responses should be acknowledged and supported as this may lead to the successful resolution of grief process. Preventing normal grief from becoming a complicated one is dependent for the most part on the available support that exists or can be made available to the survivors.

Grief is the act following the loss of a loved one. While grief and bereavement are normal occurrences, the grief process is a social construct of how someone should behave. The acceptable ways that people grieve change because of this construct. For a time it was not acceptable to grieve; today, however, it is seen as a necessary way to move on from death (Scheid, 2011).The grief process has been described as a multistage event, with each stage lasting for a suggested amount of time to be considered “normal” and reach resolution. The beginning stage of grief is the immediate shock, disbelief, and denial lasting from hours to weeks (Wambach, 1985). The middle stage is the acute mourning phase that can include somatic and emotional turmoil. This stage includes acknowledging the event and processing it on various levels, both mentally and physically. The final stage is a period of

In relation to the purpose of this study, the driving force behind the research are three questions. What are nurses experience following patient’s death? What are their actions and coping strategies following patient death? Would better learning opportunities and supportive practice environments be provided once there is an understanding of nurses’ grief and coping process, if yes, was it beneficial. The researchers proceeded with a broad question which allowed the focus to be sharpened and delineated later in the

There are several distinct meanings of anticipatory grief based on the four resources from non-nursing disciplines in the following explication.

The loss of a loved one is a very crucial time where an individual can experience depression, somatic symptoms, grief, and sadness. What will be discussed throughout this paper is what the bereavement role is and its duration, as well as the definition of disenfranchised grief and who experiences this type of grief. I will also touch upon the four tasks of mourning and how each bereaved individual must accomplish all four tasks before mourning can be finalized. Lastly, with each of these topics, nursing implications will be outlined on how to care for bereaved individuals and their families.

This essay explores several models and theories that discuss the complexities of loss and grief. A discussion of the tasks, reactions and understanding of grief through the different stages from infants to the elderly, will also be attempted.