Occupational therapy practitioners look at the whole person while using meaningful activities and occupations to promote health and well-being. The participation in meaningful life occupations is as important at the end-of-life as it is in the earlier stages. Both hospice and palliative care comprise of end-of-life care that can be offered during the final stages of life. The occupational therapy practitioner’s role for a client facing imminent death in this setting is to improve their quality of life as they transition. According to Russell and Bahle-Lampe (2016), “enabling occupation in an end-of-life care environment…can help bring about a good death experience for all involved in the dying process” (p.3). Hospice and palliative care …show more content…
This model practice takes into consideration the ways in which terminal illness can deny clients an occupational identity while they are still occupational beings. Occupational therapy interventions may engage clients in tasks that bring attention to the clients’ self-perceptions at this stage of their lives. Factors influencing quality of life and quality of care at the end of life are maintain engagement in meaningful activities. Maintain sense of control and independence in decisions regarding one’s care and treatment. Staying social connected to family, friends, and having meaningful relationships. Continuing to find purpose and meaning in one’s life and finding a spiritual connection to a higher being. An occupational therapy practitioner deep understanding of all these factors helps them make a powerful contribution to the process of carrying for the dying …show more content…
There is a limited portion of resources that explores the development of occupational therapy practitioner’s roles in hospice and palliative care. “Potential reason for the limited scope of occupational therapy in hospice care is that the parameters for such a role have never been clearly laid out” (Russell & Bahle-Lampe, 2016, p. 2). Occupational therapists need to better communicate their contributions to palliative and hospice care through evidence-base practice. The future of occupational therapy in hospice will likely depend on our success in providing appropriate services to meet the individual’s needs and advocating for our presence. Although people may be in the stage of dying they are still living and holding on to what’s meaningful to them for as long as possible is important. Occupational therapy can help to make the dying process more optimal by creating a better environment and by supporting the person’s needs during the transition process. Occupational therapy practitioners need to be forward thinking by carrying out studies for the need of occupational therapy in end-of-life care. More data need to be collected and published to promote and develop our profession in giving care in the hospice
God tells his children, “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away” (Revelation). Death is one of the most frightening and confusing times a person can go through. Watching a loved one pass away is also one of the hardest trials a person can experience. Many people assume that death is a time of pain and the only thing that they can do is mourn and watch their loved one fade away from the earth. This is wrong. There are ways that people can turn a bad situation to good. Dying doesn’t have to be painful and full of suffering. The County Hospice staff makes sure of this. The Hospice staff not only takes care of passing patients physically, but they also take care of the patients emotionally and spiritually. Hospice staff also plays a key role in helping families during the grieving process.
Evaluating Process: First, it is important to review R’s occupational profile for progress from the start of occupational therapy. This is done to determine which assessment fits the needs of R and to ensure that the services rendered fits the client's purpose and goal. Some of the information gathered will include: client's occupational history, ADL patterns, needs and goals, environmental issues, and what the client’s limitations. It is important to evaluate the client’s progress to help facilitate the services that the new occupational therapist will continue. In addition, the client's concerns and interests are assessed in a welcome and open interview to attain additional information that R's family may
It is the duty of nurses to respect the wishes and grieving process 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. The Four Tasks of Mourning According to Leming and Dickinson (2016), in 1982, J. William Worden proposed the idea of a task-based mourning system, rather than a linear one. According to Worden, each of the four proposed tasks must be accomplished so that a return to life can take place.
Thanks in part to the scientific and technological advances of todays’ society, enhanced medicinal treatment options are helping people battle illnesses and diseases and live longer than ever before. Despite these advances, however, many people with life threatening illnesses have needs and concerns that are unidentified and therefore unmet at the end of life, notes Arnold, Artin, Griffith, Person and Graham (2006, p. 62). They further noted that when these needs and concerns remain unmet, due in part to the failure of providers to correctly evaluate these needs, as well as the patients’ reluctance to discuss them (p. 63, as originally noted by Heaven & Maguire, 1997), a patient’s quality of life may be adversely affected. According to Bosma et al. (2010, p. 84), “Many generalist social work skills regarding counseling, family systems, community resources, and psychosocial assessments are relevant to working with patients and families with terminal illness”, thereby placing social workers in the distinctive position of being able to support and assist clients with end of life decisions and care planning needs. In fact, they further noted that at some point, “most social work practitioners will encounter adults, children, and families who are facing progressive life limiting illness, dying, death, or bereavement” (p. 79).
Occupational therapist and occupational therapy assistances work with a wide variety of populations throughout their career. Some of these different populations can include different types of backgrounds, genders, ages, economic statuses, ethnicities, and more. While working with these populations, occupational therapists and occupational therapy assistances have to be aware of different types of influences that can not only affect the client, but the client’s occupations as well. In this article, “Psychosocial Aspects of Occupational Therapy,” it discusses the different types of psychosocial aspects that are in the field of occupational therapy.
Townsend & Polatajko (2007) state that “Occupational therapy is the art and science of enabling engagement in everyday living, through occupation; of enabling people to perform the occupations that foster health and well-being; and of enabling a just and inclusive society so that all people may participate to their potential in the daily occupations of life”.
Growing up around a nurse, I have known from a young age that I wanted to work within healthcare and after researching occupational therapy I was sure that it was the career I am suited for. Helping to improve a person’s quality of life and their independence, along with the diverse nature of the work is very exciting to me.
Occupational therapy is a career focused on helping people who have or are at risk for developing an illness, injury, disease, disorder, condition, impairment, disability, activity limitation, or participation restriction. An OT’s scope of practice may involve addressing “the physical, cognitive, psychosocial, sensory, and other aspects of performance to support engagement in everyday life activities that affect health, well-being, and quality of life” (Definition of Occupational Therapy Practice for the AOTA Model Practice Act, 2017). I don’t feel like occupational therapy is the right career for me because I feel like I lack certain characteristics that someone in this profession should have.
An understanding of occupation and its science dimension enables the therapist to gain knowledge about how patients orchestrate their lives through the doing of occupations in any given context. The occupational therapy proce...
Change is something that human have to face often, yet it is still very hard for us to adapt to it. We can, in turn, agree that change is not easy (Jacobs 2002). Occupational therapy has been thought a lot of changes which give rise to new treatment methods, new approaches and a better to communicate with the patients. Below is an analysis of the changes that have been made in the occupational therapy field and their outcomes.
Occupational therapy oriented my religious upbringing and principles with the desire to improve the health and welfare of others. It provided me with the an avenue in which I could help others regain control over aspects of their life that were lost and thus provide hope. Occupational therapy is defined as “helping people across the lifespan participate in the things they want and need to do through the therapeutic use of everyday activities”. The inherent value of occupational therapy is often underestimated and passed over. Occupational therapists do everything from helping children with disabilities so that they can fully engage in school activities to helping those who lost bodily functions in accidents to recover usage of their limbs.
witnessed first-hand the impact occupational therapy can make in people’s lives, watching the delight of a
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).
Introduction Occupational therapy is a form of therapy for those recuperating from physical or mental illness that encourages rehabilitation through the performance of activities required of daily life (O’Brien & Hussey, 2012; American Occupational Therapy Association [AOTA], 2014). The goal of OT intervention is to increase the ability of the client to engage in everyday activities, for example, feeding, dressing, bathing, leisure, work, education (O’Brien & Hussey, 2012; & AOTA, 2014). The Mental Health Act (MHA) is the law which sets out when you can be admitted, detained, and treated in hospitals against your wishes. It is also known as being ‘sectioned’ (Institute of psychiatry, psychology, & neuroscience, 2014).
I believe individuals live the highest quality of life by being as independent and functional as possible. When one loses their physical ability to participate in the activities of everyday life due to an injury or illness, it can also have an adverse effect on their mental health and well-being. Occupational Therapy is essential for people to improve and regain the skills needed to live life to the fullest. I want to pursue Occupational Therapy as a career because it is a rewarding profession that works with individuals to improve independence and live a better life given their circumstances. My immense passion to help people and the skills I have gained throughout my educational, professional, and healthcare experiences will allow me