Need advice about care of a consumer

[mttzakr87]

Well I am a student nurse and I am obviously not lisenced yet and pretty much everything ive learned so far is strictly the basics... and I am far from the seasoned vet who's accostomed to all types of situations.... Here is my problem: My workplace outside of school is a group home for developmentaly disabled and I have a client who has stage 4 lung cancer, who also is near passing on.....we expect it to happen in a matter of days. He is obviously uncomfortable, and is 100% disorientated and delusional, and communication is almost impossible, and having a very rough last few days. He recently just had his catholic last rights read and basically all we can do now is keep giving him his methadone prn and morphine for shortness of breath prn, and make him as comfortable as possible. Our facility is not a health care facility but a human service agency that has some sites that have extreme medical needs like mine, and basically the houses are staffed with unlisenced assistive personel, whom carry out nursing duties under the RN's lisence.... but in regards to this consumer.... is there anything else we could be doing for him at all, that we havent already done to help him ease his decline? Or have we truely done all we can do? I am a student nurse and the only person in my facility aside from the house LPN who has any remote medical training what so ever and really couldnt help but wonder if there was anything more we could or should be doing? I almost feel like my facility doesnt have the resources to handle this but we are making do.

[xtxrn, ASN, RN]

Sidenote; are nursing schools teaching students to call patients "consumers" now?

Horrifying thought isn't it......

But this is outside of a hospital...maybe client/resident is becoming "consumer" (not much better).

Sorry, OP.... just sharing an observation :)

[Merlyn]

i am especially sorry that your father didn't die well.

but there is plenty that can be done, if people proactively seek help for this pt.

there isn't any reason to stand and watch someone suffer, w/o trying to get him help.

and i agree with you, it is horrible to watch.

that is why someone needs to do something...anything.

and that is what the op is trying to do.:redpinkhe

leslie

My Father did have hospice but on to this patient. My opinion, the only way to give him "a death with dignity"

is to 'snow' him. Give him so much pain killers that he's just above a coma. Then maybe he can have some peace before Death