Lion In The House

How can the nurse help Jackie and Sean come to terms with the inevitable outcome for Kristina? When discussing devastating outcomes, such as Kristina’s prognosis, it is critical for all healthcare providers to frequently and sensitively present the information using honest and simple terminology. The nurses should assist in facilitating multiple multidisciplinary collaborations to promote understanding and acceptance. Due to Sean and Jackie’s difficulty understanding Kristina’s poor prognosis, and inevitable outcome, it would be advantageous of the nurse to encourage multiple discussions. According to Crozier and Hancock (2012), repetition and multiple meetings may be needed in order for families to fully understand difficult information and furthermore make decisions for their loved ones. The nurse must also make her or himself present and available to the family. Throughout all interactions the nurses caring for Kristina must be sensitive, patient, compassionate and clear when interacting with Sean and Jackie. Therapeutic communication techniques, such as active listening, …show more content…
The emotional roller-coaster, and unimaginable agony of watching a loved one suffer, is shared amongst all parents placed in their position. Although there were many similarities between the parents’ experiences, in contrast to the families depicted in “A Lion in the House” it appears that Jackie and Sean were faced with end-of-life decisions and the loss of their daughter very suddenly. Additionally, due to the age of their daughter, Jackie and Sean were unable to reflect on memories of their daughter before she was ill. For the aforementioned reason, the nurse must focus on creating normalcy, by means of removing all unnecessary equipment and lines, to allow for the creation of memories not associated with the infant’s health