Topics About 'Death'.

I've noticed that when it gets toward the end for people (not necessarily the VERY end, but maybe the last month or so when they have started really going downhill) they will hold their arms upward once in awhile and then let them fall at their sides...

The Guardian Newspaper and Kaiser Health News have reported that thousands of US healthcare workers have died fighting Covid-19. Their investigations have revealed the disproportionate burden on healthcare workers of color and government undercounts...

I became part of the largest home hospice in my area four years ago just after Christmas. I work at night from home and on my own. In addition to calls and visits for various issues that arise, I am also in attendance for any deaths. I do an average ...

I am looking for advice on how to respond to a patient who is in denial about their terminal illness. Patient is in an acute care setting and prognosis gives the patient about two weeks to live. MD has communicated all this to the patient and family....

Two more children came along, and I stayed home with the three of them until they all began school. I love being a mom! I was with them for every first word, first step, and first day of school. Finally the day came for me to pursue my dream of becom...

What is the appropriate response when family blames you for the patient dying, even if you did nothing wrong and death insists on taking its course? We have had so many Covid situations lately where patients are DNR/DNI but are in respiratory distre...

I have the rare and distinct honor of working in the ICU of one of Chicago's most prestigious and longest-standing hospitals. Don't get me wrong, I busted my backside getting here, with a large helping of luck along the way. When I started this past ...

Mae was a 72 year old congestive heart failure patient who was sharp as a tack and always making jokes. She was what we called a frequent flyer, since her chronic condition flared up frequently landing her in the hospital. She was a sound sleeper and...

I work on a very busy neurosurgical floor. I haven’t dealt with death a lot - only a girl with cerebral palsy but this was expected, she had comfort care, and she was surrounded by her whole family. This is what I considered a “good death”. Another...

Last night at work, I had a fellow coworker and fellow nurse seek care in our ED. She’s relatively young and the night ended with an admission and what’s going to be, more than likely, a terminal diagnosis. I won’t get into any details because she is...

I don't feel entirely comfortable asking questions here but I have nowhere else to turn. I recently had a patient pass away. This person was terminally ill but the family believed they would get better, so their death came as a shock. Due to Cov...

I recently witnessed a profound deathbed vision while on-site during a training. An older woman in the later stages of pancreatic cancer, who was under close supervision due to her declining condition, was (understandably) upset about her lot. Althou...

What states allow RN's to pronounce death? And under what circumstances? Does anyone have any websites or any lists? Thanks, Daisey

Just wondering if anyone else has experiences like this? I first noticed it when I was in nursing school, and we were orienting on the floor. We would go in a room with a patient, and I would smell this sicky-sweet odor, and around a week later,...

Has an incident at work left you wondering if you were being helped in some shape or form? I am going out on a limb here to share my experiences and hope you are open to it even if you do not agree or believe. It took me 31 years to get comfortable w...

That was as far as the frailty went, though! Alicia had a temper like a tiger and was as feisty as they come. Being hospitalized for most of her life, us nurses at the kids' ward where her extended family. We knew her parents well, and her little bro...

I have been a nurse for about a year now. I work in a physical rehabilitation hospital where I work with mainly elderly. My work position is the kind where I am every day in a different floor depending on the hospital's needs, in exchange I don't do ...

I had an 82 year old male with Covid who was clearly dying on my tele floor. He was on Vapotherm at 40L 100% Fi02 plus a non rebreather flush for 2 weeks. He was a DNR/DNI, yet not comfort care or hospice. You know, that icky and painful in between s...

The phone call I've been dreading comes at 0217. It's my night shift med aide, who informs me through tears that our much-loved resident, Evie*, has passed away after lingering for days in an unresponsive, but obviously uncomfortable state. She has r...

Today was a really hard day for everyone at work. One of our employees died at the hospital. He was just 24 years old, married with kids. Earlier today I was in a meeting and was called by one of my locally employed staff supervisors and informed tha...

As a lifelong student of human foibles, I often find myself marveling at the number of undignified situations we blunder into on any given day. I mean, have you ever been so excited to meet a celebrity that you had to glance down at your name tag bef...

Although it's been more than 30 years ago, I remember the occasion very clearly. My first death on Peds as the charge nurse. It was horrible. A four-month old with a congenital heart defect was to be discharged that afternoon. He was to go home and g...

He was a transfer from an outside hospital. Standard chest pain had some nitro tabs, needed a cardiac cath. We see it all of the time. He was actually smiling and cracking a few jokes as we got him settled into his room (of course we're rushing - he'...

I am a new nurse. I graduated in August and I just got off orientation 2 weeks ago. I never worked healthcare before this. I’ve been working med surg but I get mandated to our COVID unit a lot. Last night, I had my first patient death in the COV...

You had two simple requests of me, a drink of water, and to go home. I had started out my shift on high note, caring for my two favorite cardiac patients, working with some of my favorite co-workers. It was going to be a good night, I told myself. Th...