How do you get through a loss?

[Lil1Flip]

I am just curious how do some of you cope with a loss of a patient? Do you ever get immuned to it? At the long term facility I work in we have just started a celebration of life committee, in which we are celebrating a life. We are just starting and so far it is very slow catching on. There is a memorial service that covers a 4 month span where families are invited (this is nice to check in with families who we have not seen since their loved one has passed) But what else? Any ideas or suggestions.

My personal way to cope is volunteering my time with that pt, bathing and massages. Just offering my time to them. I find comfort in knowing that for my time spent I made that person comfortable.

[burn out]

I think to somee degree we go through the grieving process just as if we knew the patient..we are human too. However, where I think we get some comfort is that by doing the hands on stuff and running our bums off and doing everything we to keep the patient going and comfortable we honestly know we did everything we could for that patient..then we get to answer the next call light.

[jo272wv]

I had my first death a about 5 months age.. all I can say is Time, Time, and more Time... At first I thought about it all the time, What could I have done different. I still think of it once in awhile but as time goes by, I am ok about it because I know I did everything possible to prevent it.