Anyone else afraid to look at obituaries?

Nursing Students CNA/MA

Published

Specializes in LTC, Med/Surg.

Lately, I get uncomfortable when accessing the news website of my county. They always show an obituary in the bottom right corner of the main article, and I've had two unpleasant occasions where I was just checking the news and finding that one of my residents/patients had died. It's part of being in the business, but it can still be a nasty surprise.

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I check obits on a daily basis. For several reasons, but one being to check and see if any of my residents passed while I've been off. I do attend wakes of some of my residents and after missing one of one of my most beloved patients (and loved her family) because I was off when she passed and had no access to the web for a short period of time, I tend to make sure to check.

Many times, I'll see one that totally shocks me, totally out of left field with their passing, the ones that you think will be around for quite a while..those tend to really shock me.

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I don't check obituaries daily, but I do fairly check fairly often.

I used to check them on my phone while I was sitting in class. I learned quickly that I shouldn't do this. When I saw a resident I knew, I would sometimes give an audible gasp. Not so good when you're sitting in lecture.

I've found that reading it ahead of time makes it a little bit easier than showing up for work, going to your hall, and finding a favorite resident's room empty. And of course you get upset and there's no one around to answer your frantic questions.

It's one of the crappy things about LTC. You get so attached to your residents, and then they pass. I always know that their death is "good" for them, but it's hard to see it that way sometimes.

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Call it a weird habit but, the obitruary section is the first section I go to first. I've had a couple times where one of my residents have passed and found out first through the paper.

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Specializes in Med-Surg/urology.

At one of my jobs, in the lobby they'll have a picture of the recently depatured and "In memory of...." underneath the picture. I read the obits in the local paper too. Sometimes you find out some interesting stuff about their life that way.

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Specializes in LTC, Med/Surg.
At one of my jobs, in the lobby they'll have a picture of the recently depatured and "In memory of...." underneath the picture. I read the obits in the local paper too. Sometimes you find out some interesting stuff about their life that way.

I will admit to enjoying the little life stories about my residents that I find in the obits.

As I think about it, it is probably better to go through the stages of grief in front of a newspaper rather than at the start of a shift. But alas, my superstitious dread of obits will perhaps always remain.

My first encounter with an unexpected obit was particularly a surprise. My wife was showing me an article which happened to be next to the little obituary article, and I saw the name of a resident I cared for in big bold letters.

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Specializes in Acute Care, Rehab, Palliative.

I make a point of looking regularly for the samereason others have listed.Sometimes I see the obits of pts or former patients. if I see the name of someone I know I have mixed feelings of sadness but also relief, sometimes passing is a blessing for a person that grew weary a long time ago.

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