Nursing 304 Assignment: My First Experience with Death
Introduction
My first experience with death founded my passion for nursing. Amidst the spinning tornado of emotions that struck me on that day, I was shown true compassion by a stranger, by a nurse. For all that he did for me and my family, I will forever be grateful, and as a student, I hope that I will be able to follow his example. I have found my bucket list to be ever-changing and does not highlight my relationship with death. Additionally, I am hesitant to write my eulogy due to recent personal experiences, so at this time I did not feel that this would be an appropriate choice for me. That is why my first death experience was the optimal choice.
My First Death Experience I remember the overcast November day as if it
…show more content…
I was ten years old and my grandfather had recently had surgery to fix a brain bleed and was deteriorating rapidly. I was about to head to my soccer game when my mom phoned us, and then we rushed over to Victoria General Hospital. We met my uncle and my two cousins in the parking lot and then went up to the hospital room. It was a large room with lots of windows and we had it all to ourselves. Throughout the morning we sat at his bedside and played cards and each of us went up to his sleeping body and told him one thing that we liked about him. Between trips to get ice cream, telling us his stories from the Korean war, playing cards and rides on his scooter, I thought we had covered what I valued most about his company. We also had a wonderful nurse that checked on us periodically and spoke with mom and her sister about the care he was to receive. I was too young to understand most of these conversations, but I remember that he offered tissues and brought in a chaplain. My mom grew up in the Anglican church and so I feel that by having a spiritual leader there in my grandfather’s
Nurses are both blessed and cursed to be with patients from the very first moments of life until their final breath. With those last breaths, each patient leaves someone behind. How do nurses handle the loss and grief that comes along with patients dying? How do they help the families and loved ones of deceased patients? Each person, no matter their background, must grieve the death of a loved one, but there is no right way to grieve and no two people will have the same reaction to death. It is the duty of nurses to respect the wishes and grieving process of each and every culture; of each and every individual (Verosky, 2006). This paper will address J. William Worden’s four tasks of mourning as well as the nursing implications involved – both when taking care of patients’ families and when coping with the loss of patients themselves.
When I graduated high school, I really gave a lot of thought about what I wanted to do with my future and who I wanted to be. During this time, I read that psychologist often suggest people revisit the activities they enjoyed as a child. They claim that children spend their time participating in activities that bring them the greatest delight. Children do not think about salaries and retirement plans, they simply do what makes them happiest. This made me think back to how I spent my childhood and what I did in those years solely for the sake of it bringing me joy. That is when I realized that care giving and nurturing has been a part of my happiness since I was a child. Whenever a family member or friend was injured or ill, I would be the first in line to administer a Band-Aid or bring them soup in bed. When I was blessed enough to have everyone in my life be in good health, I would find an outlet for care giving in my stuffed animals. I would come up with fictional illness and ailments and find a way to care for them; whether it was constructing a tourniquet out of my hair ribbons, a cast out of duct tape or an oxygen mask out of sand which bags. When I allowed my imagination to run wild, I always found my greatest joy in nurturing. As I grew older I gave up my imaginary patients, but I never lost the happiness I felt when caring for another person.
After seeing though the eyes of my pastor I’ve come to realize the importance of faith and committing to one’s beliefs. Returning to church after two massive losses has helped my mother in many ways and it has also taught me as a young man how small things that I could do would turn to have a big impact on someone’s life the same way my pastor impacted my life and the life of my siblings.
Licensed practical nurses (LPN 's) fill an important role in modern health care practices. Their primary job duty is to provide routine care, observe patients’ health, assist doctors and registered nurses, and communicate instructions to patients regarding medication, home-based care, and preventative lifestyle changes (Hill). A Licensed Practical Nurse has various of roles that they have to manage on a day to day basis, such as being an advocate for their patients, an educator, being a counselor, a consultant, researcher, collaborator, and even a manager depending on what kind of work exactly that you do and where. It is the nursing process and critical thinking that separate the LPN from the unlicensed assistive personnel. Judgments are based
Granted, textbooks and nursing classes deal with death, but Marks explains that you do not really understand it until it is right in front of you. Overtime it becomes something that nurse’s become accustom to. To clarify the subject of death never becomes easy, it just becomes bearable. After 31 years of experience Marks explained to me that nurses have to learn how to distance themselves, yet still be caring at the same time; a trait that does not come easily to most. In the same way treating someone with a terminal illness is just as hard. In these cases nurses must step into the role of councillors. They must learn how to comfort their patient, yet not become too attached. As well they must learn how to explain to them what is happening, which can become especially hard when dealing with
What is the central component of advanced practice nurses (APNs) direct clinical practice and patient/families?
My earliest experiences of observing nursing in action occurred during my last two years of high school. My father was diagnosed with cancer during the spring of my junior year and died right before my senior year. During that short time I watched as the nurses cared for him and I could see compassion and empathy in the way they looked at him. It never occurred to me until after I had raised my children that I wanted to be able to help people in the same way those nurses helped my dad. But now when I tell people that I want to be an oncology nurse, people often respond by saying that they would never choose that type of nursing. They say that they could not stand to watch their patients die so frequently. Their reactions, along with this course in death and dying, have made me question how I might be able to bear the challenges of nursing in an area where death of my patients may be common. I believe that oncology will be a positive specialty to work in because of the consistent advances in prevention, early detection, and treatment of cancer. Furthermore, I believe that William Worden’s four tasks of mourning as presented in our text book is a good framework for the oncology nurse to use in order to cope with the repeated losses inherent in this type of nursing (Leming and Dickinson, 2011).
“Persons intentionally choose to become nurses to help patients meet their health needs,” even when the patient is actively dying. (Wu & Volker, 2012) Hospice nursing and palliative care nursing are both considered end of life care. However, hospice nursing is typically given to patients with a terminal illness and who have less than six months to live. Palliative care is typically given to patients with a life threatening illness, and is used to increase the patient’s quality of life. Choosing a nursing career in either hospice or palliative care can be extremely difficult, but will provide an opportunity for great personal growth. At times, an end-of-life caregiver may feel responsible for their patient’s death, or they may feel isolated due to a lack of support. Nurses new to this field should “feel that their unit acknowledges death as a difficult event and that discussion of death is acceptable in the workplace.” (Lewis, 2013) The most rewarding, and also most difficult, part of being a hospice or palliative care nurse is the ability to be a part of your patient and their family’s life, including their loss, grief, and death. (Wu & Volker, 2012)
Not too long ago I had an uncle of mine who passed away in Nashville Tennessee. A day after my uncle’s death, my mom was notified through a phone call of the incident. After my mom decided to take charge of this situation, we heading to Tennessee to come across peaks and valleys. At first we were given help physically with transportation, then we got hurt emotionally by the people closest to us, And at last because some looked after us, a new faith healed us emotionally. Going through this experience with my mom, came to my attention that when someone needs to be cared for, you don’t just leave them, you help them out, because that is the logical thing to do.
I have been very fortunate to have known my maternal and paternal grandparents and great-grandparents. We enjoy a close family and always have. Sadly, my first experience with a close death was when my paternal grandma died at the age of sixty-four of colon cancer. I was in the ninth grade when she died and hers’ was the first wake and funeral I had experienced. I remember having nightmares for weeks after the funeral. As I grew older, I lost my
When I took care of my uncle last year in home hospice, I encountered this strength of spirit. As he tirelessly battled cancer, I saw his need for personal interaction, validation and compassion. I had the privilege to support him during his journey and learned a lot about myself in the process. I developed a stronger, more personal relationship with him, learning that people continue to forge on and search for joy in their lives despite astounding odds. This moved
death of a patient, although I never thought I would be a part in this type of
In my life time, I have experienced many deaths. I have never had anyone that was very close to me die, but I have shed tears over many deaths that I knew traumatically impacted the people that I love. The first death that influenced me was the death of my grandfather. My grandfather passed away when I was very young, so I never really got the chance to know him. My papaw Tom was my mothers dad, and she was very upset after his passing. Seeing my mom get upset caused me to be sad. The second death that influenced my life was the death of my great grandmother. My great grandmother was a very healthy women her whole life. When she was ninety three she had
I was very excited to take Death and Dying as a college level course. Firstly, because I have always had a huge interest in death, but it coincides with a fear surrounding it. I love the opportunity to write this paper because I can delve into my own experiences and beliefs around death and dying and perhaps really establish a clear personal perspective and how I can relate to others in a professional setting.
...ry service were beautiful. Everyone that spoke had something nice to say and somehow I found enough strength in my self to get up and read prayer that his parents had asked me to read.