Quality of Life and Functioning for End of Life Care
Quality of Life and Functioning for End of Life Care. HAT2 Community Health Nursing. Western Governors University.
Competency 725.8.5: Quality of Life and Functioning - The graduate selects nursing actions during illness and end-of-life stages to maximize quality of life and functioning for individuals, families, and communities; promotes wellness principles and programs for individuals, families, and communities; and reflects on how personal beliefs or perceptions about quality of life and health promotion impact approaches or decisions in nursing care.
Quality of Life and Functioning
Alice Collins
Western Governor’s University
Death and dying are extremely personal experiences with an endless array of situations and reactions. Terminal illness holds it’s own plethora of difficulties and circumstances. As a nurse, treating a terminally ill patient takes an acute awareness of personal philosophies and perceptions in order to provide the level of care necessary. Nurses, often times, also provide care to family and friends. This can make for a varied and complex situation. Nurses are trained to promote health and protect life: This particular nursing philosophy can sometimes cause cognitive dissonance when dealing with a terminally ill patient and their family. For instance, euthanasia may be seen as assisted suicide or having the right to choose when a patients’ quality of life is too diminished. Choosing when to withhold life saving treatment is also a very personal choice and opinions about the appropriate time can be extremely diverse from patient to family to friends to healthcare providers. Patients choosing to continue detrimental behaviors and actions, that may have resulted in the terminal illness, can also prove to be frustrating to nurses and family providing support and care. Ultimately, there is no appropriate or inappropriate way to deal with death and dying. As a nurse, personal opinions must be put
Competency 725.8.5: Quality of Life and Functioning - The graduate selects nursing actions during illness and end-of-life stages to maximize quality of life and functioning for individuals, families, and communities; promotes wellness principles and programs for individuals, families, and communities; and reflects on how personal beliefs or perceptions about quality of life and health promotion impact approaches or decisions in nursing care.
Quality of Life and Functioning
Alice Collins
Western Governor’s University
Death and dying are extremely personal experiences with an endless array of situations and reactions. Terminal illness holds it’s own plethora of difficulties and circumstances. As a nurse, treating a terminally ill patient takes an acute awareness of personal philosophies and perceptions in order to provide the level of care necessary. Nurses, often times, also provide care to family and friends. This can make for a varied and complex situation. Nurses are trained to promote health and protect life: This particular nursing philosophy can sometimes cause cognitive dissonance when dealing with a terminally ill patient and their family. For instance, euthanasia may be seen as assisted suicide or having the right to choose when a patients’ quality of life is too diminished. Choosing when to withhold life saving treatment is also a very personal choice and opinions about the appropriate time can be extremely diverse from patient to family to friends to healthcare providers. Patients choosing to continue detrimental behaviors and actions, that may have resulted in the terminal illness, can also prove to be frustrating to nurses and family providing support and care. Ultimately, there is no appropriate or inappropriate way to deal with death and dying. As a nurse, personal opinions must be put
References: Carpenito-Moyet, L. J. (2008). Nursing diagnosis: Application to clinical practice. (12 ed., pp. 1-116). Philadelphia, PA: J.B. Lippencott Company. Retrieved from http://books.google.com/booksid=ZCzDj7D4PEYC&pg=PA31&lpg=PA31&dq=nursing[->0] Hospice Patient Alliance. (n.d.). Keeping the terminally ill patient at home. Retrieved from http://www.hospicepatients.org/hospic5.html National End of Life Care Programme. (2012, February). Planning for your future care. Retrieved from http://www.endoflifecareforadults.nhs.uk/assets/downloads/ EoLC_Planning_for_your_future_care_FINAL_010212.pdf[->1] Running head: Quality of Life and Functioning 1 [->0] - http://books.google.com/books?id=ZCzDj7D4PEYC&pg=PA31&lpg=PA31&dq=nursing [->1] - http://www.endoflifecareforadults.nhs.uk/assets/downloads/EoLC_Planning_for_your_future_care_FINAL_010212.pdf