A Good Death

There have been many research studies viewing the perception of a good death from the viewpoints of health professionals such as hospice co-ordinateurs and nurses. Almost nothing is known about dying patient’s preferences and no outcome measures using the concept of a good death are available to demonstrate the value of terminal care.

According to text; clear decision making, pain and symptom management, preparation for death, contributing to other persons, accomplishments, and affirmations of the whole person all are components of a good death (DeSpelder & Strickland, 2011, p. 574). The terms respectful death or an appropriate death are alternative ways of defining a good death.

A good death could be viewed as the natural path of faith commitments made in one’s early life. Robert Kastenbaum stated, “Individuals should be spared extreme mental, spiritual, and physical suffering at the end of their lives” (DeSpelder & Strickland, 2011, p. 573). Poets, professors, priests, and plain folks all speak out about what makes a good death

A Death of One's Own (2000) is a segment that unravels the complications underlying the many choices at the end of life. Narrated by Bill Moyers, the viewers are taken for the bedside of the dying to the obverse line of efforts to expand end-of-life care. Not only does the terminally ill patients struggles with the topics of physician assisted suicide and pain relief that could speed up death, but also the caregivers.

Jim Witcher, an independent-minded man, veterinarian and horse breeder, looking forward to a happy retirement with his wife Susie. Once diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease), Jim had to make drastic changes and decisions. As the disease progressed, he decided not to receive excess ...

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...d a new pleasantness as his health weakened. Diagnosed with cancer of the esophagus, he refused to accept the time given to live, but spent each day he had living life to the fullest. Five years passed before the illness took his life. Dying with dignity constitutes a good death.

Works Cited

(A Death of One's Own, 2000)

Bibliography: A Death of One's Own. 2000. [DVD] New York: Bill Moyers.

(A Different Kind of Care, 2000)

Bibliography: A Different Kind of Care. 2000. [DVD] New York: Bill Moyers.

(A Time to Change, 2000)

Bibliography: A Time to Change. 2000. [DVD] New York: Bill Moyers.

(Living with Dying, 2000)

Bibliography: Living with Dying. 2000. [DVD] New York: Bill Moyers.

DeSpelder, L., & Strickland, A. (2011). The Last Dance: Encountering Death and Dying. New York, NY: McGraw - Hill.

On My Own Terms: Moyers on Dying. 2000. [DVD] New York: Bill Moyers.