Body, Mind, and Soul - Page 2
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Dispensing Emergency Spiritual Care
By tnbutterfly - “One department at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center stands out for its unique emergency supplies: Muslim prayer rugs, recordings of Buddhist monks chanting, Christian Bibles and Jewish prayer shawls.” “For patients struck by a serious illness or a deadly diagnosis, those supplies are just one way the Spiritual Care Department helps patients cope with a crisis. The chaplains offer company, spiritual guidance and religious materials to patients of every stripe, from the deeply observant to... Read More →
From the Other Side of the Bed Rails - When the Nurse Becomes the Patient
By tnbutterfly - I had an interesting experience today. I walked into a hematology/oncology office ......... but this time as the patient. It’s strange how much different it feels when you, the nurse, suddenly become the patient. It looks much different through the patient’s eyes. I looked around at the people in the waiting room, wondering……. what’s wrong with that lady? Does she have cancer? Poor thing. Then I thought… Gee….. Maybe she’s wondering the same thing about me. I wanted to reassure... Read More →
Who is Responsible for Discussing End-of-Life Treatment Options?
By tnbutterfly - Who is responsible for discussing end-of-life treatment options with the patient…….the physician? The nurse? In most instances it is the physician’s responsibility to initiate discussion and determine a plan of treatment. But what if the patient is not given information on all the options? What if the nurse does not think the patient and family have been given adequate information or disagrees with the physician? According to the ANA Code of Ethics, “The nurse's primary commitment is... Read More →
Nurses Coping with Personal Grief
By tnbutterfly - How many of you have felt helpless or guilty when caring for a seriously ill or dying patient? How many become overwhelmed with emotion after a particularly “bad death”, or the death of a patient you have allowed yourself to become attached to? What should nurses do to avoid the pain that such circumstances often cause? Or are there appropriate ways to deal with these feelings? Because nurses work so closely with dying patients….providing intimate care to the whole person…including... Read More →
Self-Assessment of Your Beliefs About Death and Dying
By tnbutterfly - we all must eventually come face-to-face with our own deaths. what has influenced your views on death? as a nurse or other health-care professional, how do your beliefs about death and dying affect how you render care to the individual who is dying? take this self-assessment from "on our own terms - moyers on dying" to gain insight into your personal attitude about death. Read More →
Spiritual Beliefs and End of Life Care
By tnbutterfly - what role do spiritual beliefs play in a “good death”? how can the nurse in her/his role as patient advocate be equipped to assist the patient and family in honoring their spiritual beliefs when considering end of life treatment? according to a study published this week in the journal of the american medical association, “cancer patients who rely on their faith to handle the stresses of serious illness and approaching death are more likely to receive aggressive care when they die”. in this... Read More →
Intensive Prayer Unit
By tnbutterfly - When considering a holistic approach to healthcare, it is important to realize the vital role that spiritual care plays in healing and in coping with health crisis. It is important to provide the patient and the family links to the care and support they need. Many patients find prayer to be very comforting and uplifting. Several hospitals, such as Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, utilize a program called Intensive Prayer Unit to help address one’s spiritual needs. The program’s goal is... Read More →
The Nurse's Role in Providing Spiritual Care - Is It OK to Pray?
By tnbutterfly - There has been recent discussion in one of the allnurses threads about a nurse in the uk who was placed on suspension for offering to pray with a patient. In this instance, the nurse only offered to pray. She reportedly did not follow through with prayer when the patient declined her offer. In this instance, we only know what was written. We can only guess what the entire story might be. This brought up much discussion about whether or not offering prayer falls within the scope of the... Read More →
A Typical Day for this Parish Nurse
By tnbutterfly - I have been a Parish Nurse for the past 9 years, being part of a program sponsored jointly by our local hospital and area churches. I received my parish nurse training through this hospital. Currently, there are more than 30 parish nurses in this program. Although mine is a paid part-time position, some of the nurses in the program work as volunteers, working with smaller congregations. For the paid positions, the hospital pays 25% of the salary while the church is responsible for the... Read More →
What is Parish Nursing
By tnbutterfly - Parish nursing is a relatively new nursing specialty that focuses on promoting health within faith communities, ministering to the parishioners’ physical, emotional and spiritual needs. Far more than just “a nurse in the church”, the parish nurse is an experienced registered nurse with additional training who serves as part of the ministerial team to promote wellness and spiritual care within the congregation and community. A parish nurse is not a primary care giver, but serves more as a... Read More →
