Topics About 'End Of Life'.

When first admitting a patient and their family into the hospice care experience, it is important to know that they are fearful of the unknown. Some view it as a death sentence and want to know what to expect. Common questions are, "How long do I hav...

Remember when you first started nursing school and didn't know what med/surg or gtts meant? I sure do, but soon nursing language became second nature. Now I can't even jot a quick sticky note to my partner without automatically writing, "see you p th...

It is always challenging to care for hospice patients. In some cases, they have suffered through a long debilitating illness, and we want their last days to be ones of peace and comfort. It is especially difficult for their family members to witness,...

The call came in while at work. My mom's brother Steve had been rushed to a hospital. He was dying. I decided to go on the weekend when I was off, as my partner at work was out sick. I flew into Canada and made my way to the hospital. My aunt, a reti...

How much time? She looked up at me with pleading eyes, her head resting on a freshly laundered pillow case and her hair, still damp, laid out against the white expanse to dry. Her voice was firm as she asked the question that was on her mind. Tak...

It reminds me of the query "what came first, the chicken or the egg." Do you become a good nurse because of your life experience, or does your life experience make you a good nurse? I just don't know. What follows is a bare rough draft of my feelings...

Hospice: A New DirectionNow I wasn't just stepping back into a direct care role on "the floor" of Med/Surg. No, I took a role as a field nurse in an area considered taboo by even the best nurses. Most nurses cringe when hearing that name with the usu...

.....I went and lost my heart to yet another hospice patient. Her name is Dottie, and she is 85 pounds of trouble dressed in a white satin nightgown and an ancient pair of fuzzy pink slippers. She came to our nursing home in early April for a five-da...

Here's a truthful horoscope for you: we're all going to die! Before we get started, ask yourselves the following question: What exactly is it about death and dying that disturbs you? Once you pinpoint the source of your fears, keep in mind that ...

Talking about the end of life is not for the faint of heart. There are many obstacles, including our individual sense of immortality. It's such a serious topic that I'd like to start with the story of a man who came to see his doctor. He said, "Doc, ...

It has been two weeks since I found out that my grandmother was in the hospital, ten days since her surgery, five days since I last spoke to her, four days since she moved to hospice, two days since the last time she was awake. For 81 years my grandm...

Has anyone read the book Dear Life: A Doctor's Story of Love and Life? I read this recently and it brought to light the idea that we really don't discuss end of life care in family practice. At least not in my program. I recently had a patient ...

Over a few months, we had a rash of cancer patients on our ward. The time period was somewhere in the early 1990s. We had many end-stage patients, most were elderly. But there was one young woman I will never forget. She was in her early 30's. She wa...

I began my practice as a hospice RN in 1996. At that time the facility was seated in a pocket of the Midwest where "hospice" was not often spoken. I worked for a small hospice that had a census of eight (yes, you read that right-more staff than patie...

The author was being oriented in intensive care units when she was assigned to her exemplary case. This case involved an elderly ventilated lady that was alert and oriented, capable of making her own decisions and facing the end of life decisions. Th...

My mother-in-law had a stroke last week. Details are sketchy -- she's several hundred miles away and the daughter who lives closest, a mammography technician, knows just enough to tantalize my husband and me with some of the medical details, but not ...

This is the story of "Baby", the nickname his family gave him so affectionately. He was born in the month of September 1995. He was born with Myotubular Myopathy; he was very "floppy" and had difficulty breathing on his own. He was immediately shippe...

"To Suction or Not To Suction, End-of-Life & Hospice Patients" is an article I recently published in allnurses.com and the responses were very conflicting. As of today Sept. 13, 2018, there are over 16,000 views of the article and 3 pages of clin...

Just the other day, I talked with two different nurses who said they cried on the way home from work. One said that she had promised her son she'd take him to a movie after work that night, but her day was so emotionally distressing that when she got...

Death came to visit Friday, it was not kind, and it was not peaceful for my friend's mom-it was hard, she struggled so much, her mind was ready, but her body fought her to the bitter end; causing trauma to her loved ones who stayed by her side so she...

My Brother's Nurse: By Paul, RN I used to think I knew all there was to know about death. Working in the intensive care unit and emergency department presented seemingly endless opportunities to interact with patients who were about to die as well as...

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...

I'm in pain, mama. My body is failing me. I've lost my ability to speak. The hole in my throat helps me breathe - the most basic bodily function vital to our survival. The nurse comes in when the blue number on that monitor over there starts falling ...

Difficult conversations are part of healthcare. However, when the news is that a patient is terminal, it might be a bit harder of a conversation than others. One physician found himself on the receiving end of a difficult chat that spurred him to sta...

Hospice: 3 Ways Hospice at the end of life is focused on the whole person and their needs for symptom management, their psychosocial needs as relates to their significant others, and their spiritual care at the end of life. In these three case st...