During the End of Life meeting I learned many things that I did not even think about when dealing with a patient that is dying or even a patient that has even suffered a loss by being hospitalized. As a student in nursing school we tend to not think about everything going on with the patient because we are so wrapped up in following a precise plan, such as at this time I will conduct an assessment on the patient, then I will pass out medications, do charting by this time, and so on. When we do this we do not focus a lot on the patient’s and family’s emotions or how they are doing mentally with this hospitalization.
I believe the most important thing I learned in the class is asking the patient and family members what they need or what can I do for you. I thought this was really important because when dealing with a patient that is dying the care that a nurse provides is very individualized. I think a nurse needs to really figure out what the patient or family needs to make the grieving process a lot easier. “The nurse has a responsibility to ensure that the person has an opportunity for the communication he or she desires” (Jett & Touhy, 2016, pg. 491). The loss will be hard for the family and that is completely understandable but if a nurse is really present in the care by providing the family with whatever they need to accept the death or loss it can be easier. For example, the nurse has a patient that is going to be taken off life support today, they should ask the patient’s family “what can I do for you?” If the husband or wife wants to lay in bed with their spouse one last time, as a nurse we should make this happen. As a nurse we really need to remember that everyone is an individual and need different things to cope with a loss of a loved one, so by communicating and asking the simple question of what they need can help tremendously. The way I will implement this into my practice for a patient that is just hospitalized suffering losses is as soon as I get report, I would give a plan for the day to the patient followed by the questions what can I do for you or what would you like to accomplish today? I would do this to find out what this patient …show more content…
I was assigned to the ICU and one of the patient’s I cared for was on a ventilator because he coded during a CABG. The wife of the patient seemed really upset while the nurse and I were in the room. I ended up asking her “what can I do for you?” As soon as I said that, she started tearing up and began to tell me that this is just hard for her to see her husband like this. She said they have been married for 45 years and have not been separated. She vented how she was doing to me and afterwards thanked me for everything and gave me a hug.
Overall, I believe the most important thing a nurse can do for the patient that is dying and the family is to be present and ask what they need. Nursing is a profession that is consistently around death and advocating for the family. If we treat every patient and family as individuals and communicate consistently with them, we can make the end of life coping
I believe the most important thing I learned in the class is asking the patient and family members what they need or what can I do for you. I thought this was really important because when dealing with a patient that is dying the care that a nurse provides is very individualized. I think a nurse needs to really figure out what the patient or family needs to make the grieving process a lot easier. “The nurse has a responsibility to ensure that the person has an opportunity for the communication he or she desires” (Jett & Touhy, 2016, pg. 491). The loss will be hard for the family and that is completely understandable but if a nurse is really present in the care by providing the family with whatever they need to accept the death or loss it can be easier. For example, the nurse has a patient that is going to be taken off life support today, they should ask the patient’s family “what can I do for you?” If the husband or wife wants to lay in bed with their spouse one last time, as a nurse we should make this happen. As a nurse we really need to remember that everyone is an individual and need different things to cope with a loss of a loved one, so by communicating and asking the simple question of what they need can help tremendously. The way I will implement this into my practice for a patient that is just hospitalized suffering losses is as soon as I get report, I would give a plan for the day to the patient followed by the questions what can I do for you or what would you like to accomplish today? I would do this to find out what this patient …show more content…
I was assigned to the ICU and one of the patient’s I cared for was on a ventilator because he coded during a CABG. The wife of the patient seemed really upset while the nurse and I were in the room. I ended up asking her “what can I do for you?” As soon as I said that, she started tearing up and began to tell me that this is just hard for her to see her husband like this. She said they have been married for 45 years and have not been separated. She vented how she was doing to me and afterwards thanked me for everything and gave me a hug.
Overall, I believe the most important thing a nurse can do for the patient that is dying and the family is to be present and ask what they need. Nursing is a profession that is consistently around death and advocating for the family. If we treat every patient and family as individuals and communicate consistently with them, we can make the end of life coping