. A nurse’s perceptions about quality of life and health promotion could affect the care of a dying patient with a lingering illness, such as cancer. Nurses are patient advocates and it is their responsibility to respect patients’ wishes regardless of their personal opinion. A nurse may personally feel that a patient should use any and all medications available to them such as pain medication, etc. during a lingering illness.
I work in a care home on two nursing units where very often I have to take care about terminally ill patients. Care provided must be very gentle and tailored towards resident's needs as well gaining knowledge about resident's illnesses and their stage from care plans and hospital documents is crucial. Depending on resident's condition accompanying and supporting is extremely important as well, because terminally ill person in most of the cases goes through five-stage process of dying which are: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. And on every stage such an individual is going to need appropriate support and understanding. As a carer I have a duty and a desire to help as much as it is possible by meeting all the mentioned needs and reassuring residents using all my knowledge and experience which I have
It is important to support people who are nearing the end of life to maintain the best quality of life possible. To support them in having much control over decisions, care and treatment as possible. Good end of life care helps patients with life-limiting conditions to live as well as possible until they die,and to die with dignity. The term "life-limiting" includes organ or systems failure, where patients are likely to die suddenly as a result of an acute crisis ( for example heart failure, chronic respiratory disease). Life threatening acute conditions caused by sudden catastrophic events (for example brain damage from head injury).
The core of hospice care philosophy is family focused. Family is integral to the end-of-life processes hospice patients go through. The families face stressful experiences including disruption of day to day life, family conflict, financial issues, and increased caring needs. Due to staffing in hospice agencies, often the
My question was: Mrs. Thompson, I would like to know from your experience which is better for the patient and his/her family, hospice at home or in a hospital setting. Sometimes, there are many problems for the family to care for their love ones at this time due to emotional feelings and physical burden. What do you think is best? Mrs. Thompson answer: Philosophically and practically, the goal of hospice care is to stabilize the patient's condition in order to permit him to return home, where most people say they would prefer to die. There are several points to note, in this context: 1.
* Reduce or prevent pain and other symptoms of the patient's illness. * Provide counselling and emotional support for the person who is ill. * Provide grief and bereavement counselling for family and friends while the person is sick. * Offer follow-up counselling after their death. Who provides palliative care Palliative care is provided by a team which can include: * Doctors * Nurses * Counsellors * Volunteers. Where to find palliative care services Palliative care can be given at home, in a hospital or at a hospice.
Or, is honoring the family’s wishes to keep that patient alive at all cost morally acceptable? With the rising cost of health-care today, I believe that many factors should be taken into consideration in deciding what is morally correct regarding end of life issues with our patients. So, what constitutes a “good death”? Is it being able to die with peace and dignity? Or, is it doing everything medically possible to keep someone alive?
Nursing Consideration for Providing Supporting Care for the Terminally Ill Patient Nursing Consideration for Providing Supporting Care for the Terminally Ill Patient In 1716, Christopher Bullock wrote “‘tis impossible to be sure of anything but Death and Taxes.” Death being one of these inevitabilities hopefully leaves you more empathetic in life and in offering supportive care. There are many different ways of providing care for a terminally ill patient. None more important that offering patient supportive based care. Family members may find it challenging, both physically and emotionally, caring for a terminally ill loved one, but need to be aware of their own feelings and make decisions based on the what is best for the suffering person. A caregiver, while providing supporting care can instill a sense of strength.
We need to have an openness of mind that allows us to see what we can do for versus to these patients. This represents the ever evolving practice of palliative care. Having this understanding, remaining flexible and advocating for the needs of terminally ill patients and their families at each stage amongst interdisciplinary teams will help to collectively bring all aspects of our being into balance. Strategies In the case of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas, three palliative care strategies for balancing their quality of life include symptom relief, identification of support systems, and caregiver relief (Clark, 2008, p. 534). Since pain has caused Mrs. Thomas to lose her job and function normally, this takes priority.
In my nursing class, I learned that doctors cure the sickness and nurses cure the patient. This means that the nurse attends to the physical, mental, and psychosocial aspects in the care of patients. Some days can be demanding on the mind and body, but you can still go home and be grateful of what you have done for someone else. I believe that the core of nursing is love and passion for others. Without this love and passion, why is one in nursing.