A major role in nursing is advocating and supporting patients and their families at any point in the health care continuum. This advocacy and support is beneficial during the end-of-life care to help patients and their families understand what it is their family member wants, and also, to help them navigate through the process of loss. For end-of-life care to be successful the conversation needs to start before the person is terminally ill and, in some cases, unable to communicate their last wishes to family or staff. The nurse can play an integral part in furthering conversations about end-of life care and what aspects are included within the topic so that the patient and family can understand and be prepared for the end.
“The nurses ability …show more content…
The nurse plays an important role in beginning the discussion about end-of-life decisions “because they (nurses) spend more time with patients who are facing death than any other member of the healthcare team” (Hebert et al, 2011, p.326). Initiating these conversations between family members and their HCPs and the patient having advance directives in place can prevent health care teams from implementing life saving measures that ultimately might extend suffering for the patient (Ornstein, …show more content…
As medical advancements are made and we are able to keep people alive who otherwise, historically, would not have a chance increases the importance of your medical requests and to make sure that your family and HCPs know your requests. The apprehension for patients and health care professionals to discuss this topic can be overcome by the health care professional taking the first step and initiating the conversation. I know in a lot of hospitals papers are handed out that talks about advance directives, this is not enough and a sheet of paper can get lost in the shuffle of a lot of paperwork. The conversation needs to start face to face. Attending classes or seminars on how to best approach end-of-life care with patients and families could be beneficial for health care workers who will be in the position of holding these discussions. There is a lot we can do to help people have a good end of life experience and the earlier the conversation begins the more prepared the patient and family can be and the more they can be at peace with the decisions they have
“The nurses ability …show more content…
The nurse plays an important role in beginning the discussion about end-of-life decisions “because they (nurses) spend more time with patients who are facing death than any other member of the healthcare team” (Hebert et al, 2011, p.326). Initiating these conversations between family members and their HCPs and the patient having advance directives in place can prevent health care teams from implementing life saving measures that ultimately might extend suffering for the patient (Ornstein, …show more content…
As medical advancements are made and we are able to keep people alive who otherwise, historically, would not have a chance increases the importance of your medical requests and to make sure that your family and HCPs know your requests. The apprehension for patients and health care professionals to discuss this topic can be overcome by the health care professional taking the first step and initiating the conversation. I know in a lot of hospitals papers are handed out that talks about advance directives, this is not enough and a sheet of paper can get lost in the shuffle of a lot of paperwork. The conversation needs to start face to face. Attending classes or seminars on how to best approach end-of-life care with patients and families could be beneficial for health care workers who will be in the position of holding these discussions. There is a lot we can do to help people have a good end of life experience and the earlier the conversation begins the more prepared the patient and family can be and the more they can be at peace with the decisions they have