It is a right of the patient is not to have or feel the pain or the suffering in the any phases or stages of disease.…
Hope is a long term healthcare facility that is currently accommodates 100 residents. Our mission is to provide high quality long term care; therefore it’s important to deal with the issues that won’t allow us to achieve our mission. As a human resource manager I would like to elaborate a few critical problems we are facing. It has been a while that hiring and retaining qualified staff remained an ongoing challenge. Our annual turnover rate is 40 percent. In addition we are dealing with aging workforce in our facility. Those with five or more years experience are 55 age and older are complaining about the high workload that is beyond their abilities.…
late. In order to aid nursing home residents in an effective manner, one must not only integrate preferences and options, but also refine nursing home environments (Choi et al., 2008, p. 545). The changes in the nursing home facilities may range from no longer including structured activities to making residents feel at home. In addition, adding complex tasks to residents daily life may help with feelings of unworthiness. According to Bhar & Brown (2012) reestablishing problem solving in nursing home residents produces feelings of worthiness, proficiency and significance (p. 121). Restoring problem solving in residents may be a key to preventing suicide. However, further research is necessary to effectively aid nursing home residents. Further…
A terminal illness can have a devastating effect, not only on the patient, but the family as well. Caring for the patient does not just involve physically caring for the patient, but rather involves the holistic care, which is “all nursing practice that has healing the whole person as its goal” (American Holistic Nurses’ Association, 1998). The nurse becomes the therapeutic partner, which involves the care of the mind, body, and spirit, and is at the forefront of this care. It involves the patient and the care of the family during this difficult time.…
Rather than seeking a cure as with traditional western medical practices, hospice and palliative care puts an emphasis on the quality of life by concentrating on symptom, pain, and stress reduction to alleviate patient suffering through the use of a multidisciplinary approach. This medical approach to patient care is deemed appropriate for patients with acute and chronic diseases, as well as for patients at the end of their life. While the palliative care treatment methodology seeks to relieve symptoms without providing a curative effect on the underlying disease or cause, hospice care addresses only those who are considered terminal, that is, with a life expectancy of less than six months. With respect to advanced disease progression, concerns pertaining to physical, emotional, spiritual, and social issues are addressed with regard to the patient and their loved ones.…
The family members play an important role and helping care for the patient helps them with the grieving process while providing a supportive environment to express their grief while coping with their feelings (Davidson, 2010). The second intervention would to have been to take a moment to request a chaplain or ask some one to request one for the family to talk to them about what is happening and how they are coping with this situation and if there is a need for spiritual counseling for them or the patient. This gives the family members a chance to express the desire to have any rituals performed for the patient. Also, to help them cope more effectively with the psychological and emotional stain of their family member’s illness and the dying process (Davidson, 2010). Last, the third intervention would be getting the family a list of some activities that the family members can do that will help facilitate with the anticipatory grieving and dealing with the feelings of grief. Being active gives the family members a purpose and helps them to make sense of what is happening. This helps with reshaping their lives and find new meaning in life without their family member (Davidson,…
Compassion fatigue is most frequently reported amongst nurses, doctors and other frontline care providers in direct interaction with patients. This condition significantly effects these professionals’ interaction with patients, with families of patients and even with other health workers. In extreme cases, problems in interaction with own family has been reported according to Reese (2009). Reese (2009) further states there is an increasingly awareness of the profound emotional disturbances that occur in health care providers when they witness the pain and suffering of the patients in the face of an incurable disease such as cancer. Care providers are often partners in the journey of the patients they are attending. At present, an understanding of the effects of the treatment of terminally ill on the caregiver is limited.…
Great spiritual, physical and emotional changes occur as an individual nears the end of a terminal illness, and hospice care is here to help you and your family deal with all of them. Hospice care helps both the individual and their family to cope changing care needs by offering emotional support as well as providing palliative care. Palliative care eases pain and makes the body's physical changes more comfortable. We are proud to support those confronting their illness with grace and dignity.…
In the article, Legal Aspects of End of Life Care, author, Nurse Claire M. McGowan, explains that when performing the role of a critical care nurse acting as the advocate for the patient, his/her family, and significant others, it is essential that the nurse has an understanding of legal implications associated with end of life care. McGowan goes on to provide information on the legal principles involved in end-of-life care, specifically addressing: limitations in treatment, assessing capacity and using surrogate decision makers and medical futility.…
Palliative care should support the person to achieve a quality of life until death. The person’s independence should be maintained for as long as possible to promote their self-esteem and they should be treated with dignity and respect at all times. Good communication is essential when providing palliative care. It is important that carers and other team members listen to the person and learn about any concerns, fears or anxieties they may have. Fears people have can include suffering a painful death, dying alone, not getting to say goodbye, leaving the family without a provider and fear of losing their independence. Family members, friends and carers can often feel frustrated if the person refuses treatment and feel helpless when all treatment…
Palliative nursing is specialized care given to people with serious illnesses so as to improve their quality of life. It requires special kinds of nurses and doctors like the state tested nursing aides and the certified nursing aides. In order for a nurse to provide special care, one has to have special biomedical knowledge, be kind, patient and patient because the sight of dying elderly men and women is heartbreaking. It is also very testing because an aide might bond with a patient only for him or her to die, and it gets hard to adapt to seeing people they cared for dying so often. Improvement in quality of life for patients is the key mission of the palliative care which should be the driving force for all nurses (Hanson, Henderson, & Menon,…
Throughout the course, it has become increasingly clearer how healthcare professionals play in to the role of end-of-life care for patients. Although I have not chosen a path in hospice or palliative care, it has become evident that end-of-life cares will be part of my nursing career regardless. As a nursing professional, it is important to remain a patient advocate throughout the end-of-life care process by ensuring ethical decision-making, continuing effective communication, and providing best practice and advice for pain and symptom management.…
Death is a touchy subject. People pretend it is something that does not happen and refuse to talk about or address it. I am an ICU nurse. I have been for six years. I have dealt with plenty of death, in my own way. Death is a part of life. Whether it is something that is expected or not, it is our destiny. Having dealt with the suicide of my son’s father at a young age, death is something most of us avoid or do not expect. One is never prepared for it. Some refuse to accept it and move forward.Whether it is a loved one battling cancer for multiple years or a sudden suicide/death, it is never acceptable. Working in the ICU, I have seen many a prolonged death. Family members are never prepared for the death of a loved one. Whether or not my patient is ready to move on, family will do everything possible to prolong the death in hopes that the patient’s condition will improve or a “new” cure will save their lives. I have gone through spending an hour resuscitating a 20 year old with severe congestive heart failure to taking my time resuscitating a 98 year old riddled with cancer. Regardless of my beliefs, it is never easy for family members to accept their loved ones are no longer among us. I have mixed views about death regarding a person battling cancer. Many a times I have had a patient who is a “full code,” all life saving efforts to be attempted, that has metastasis of cancer to their liver, brain, and bones requesting all life saving efforts. In the medical community, we know life saving efforts are futile. The patient is in so much pain they can hardly stand it. They have no quality of life. Family members are hopeful that some medication will take effect and the cancer will disappear. But, by law, we are to make every effort possible at resuscitation. If a person has a good prognosis in surviving cancer, every effort should be made to prolong the person’s life. If the cancer has metastized and is now affecting other organs, brain, bone…
End of life care is one of the most taboo topics in American society as it requires those involved to acknowledge that their lives will eventually come to an end. Planning for such an outcome can be difficult but ultimately it is necessary in order to save others from dealing with the burden of end of life care while unprepared. As a nurse it is especially important to have a firm grasp of the many different factors that weigh in decisions related to end of life care and be ready to assist both the patient and his or her family in any way needed when that time may come. A careful examination of the resources available in a community to assist with this care, the gaps in care prevalent in American society today, the cultural…
Lugton J. & Kindlen M. (2000) Palliative care: The nursing role. 2nd Edition. Harcourt Brance Ltd.…