are all just as important. Palliative care is an extremely important aspect of nursing. Palliative care “focuses more broadly on improving life and providing comfort to people of all ages with serious, chronic, and life-threatening illnesses” (http://www.WebMD.com). The ultimate goal of comfort measures and palliative care is to ensure that the patient has a more relaxed and peaceful death (End of Life care: An Ethical Overview, 16). Other important aspects of palliative care consists of hygiene measures

Assisted suicide is becoming increasingly more common. Arguing the topic is extremely hard because it means the the life or death of a human being. Today, assisted suicide is legal in multiple countries, but only a few states in the US support this. Therefore, creates a struggle for any person wanting to go through this process. Being this is a broad topic, most people are torn between one side, I personally believe there should be a compromise in between the middle. For instance, not just someone

group of doctors. The AMA filed an amicus brief in the 9th Circuit case regarding doctor-assisted suicide. In this brief, the AMA stated, "There is, in short, compelling evidence of the need to ensure that all patients have access to quality palliative care, but not of any need for physician-assisted suicide ..." The AMA is keenly aware that doctors perform a crucial act of healing and saving life. Accepting a dual role of taking life, while at the same time protecting life, would undermine their

patients, but unfortunately it frequently goes unnoticed. Recently there have been more attempts to educate health care professionals on the symptoms of delirium and more treatments are becoming available. Risk Factors In 2012, the Journal of Palliative Medicine published a chart review focusing on delirium risk factors for terminal patients with cancer. Delirium was observed in 42% of the subjects, and the mean age of the group that screened positive was higher than the group that did not have delirium

Euthanasia, currently a very controversial topic of discussion throughout Australia. The question is “should euthanasia be legalised, and if so who is legible to be euthanised?” It is currently illegal in Australia to be euthanised, however 86% of the public agrees that euthanasia should be administered to people who are willing to if they are terminally ill, and a surprising 54% of practitioners agree also. Even though this is the case, why is it still illegal? What are the dangers of euthanasia

Preparing for Death A lack of preparation for our deaths is a serious problem whether it is because we don’t know the exact time or just don’t want to face death. In a article in time magazine by John Cloud he writes “We will spend more time getting ready for two weeks away from work than we will for our last two weeks on earth” (Cloud,2000,p.60). We should prepare for our deaths to show our wishes concerning treatment and life support as well as other aspects. We should make choices while we are

When I originally signed up for this course, I was uneasy about it. Talking about death has always made me feel anxious, as it does with most people in our society. However, over the course of the semester, I’ve learned that not only is it okay to talk about death and dying, but it also makes me feel less anxious about death. Things that I have learned in this course will help me in many ways in both my professional and personal life. One learning of social importance that I have had this semester

My grandma shouted at the top of her lungs, “Freeloaders! All of you!” As she was taken away, into the car that would driver her to a nursing home. She sat still in the car crying about her money, crying about her son and crying about anything. She couldn’t remember where her son went or what happened to her money. She couldn’t remember anything at all. Alzheimer’s is a terminal disease that’s incurable but can be treated and slowed down. For now my grandma has to suffer several medications that

Introduction Evidence based practice is the basis for needed change in practice and function. It is a sound method for scientific, fact-based change. Changes which have no evidence to support them are fragile, unscientific, and subjective. These changes don’t effect real change over time, as they aren’t able to be proven to a more general population. The change which is outlined in this paper relates to how early referral of terminally ill patients into a hospice program results in better patient

however, the time comes when cure and remission are beyond current medical expertise. It is then that the intervention must shift to what is now often termed "palliative treatment," which is designed to control pain in the broadest sense and provide personal support for patients and family during the terminal phase of illness. In general, palliative care requires limited use of apparatus and technology, extensive personal care, and an ordering of the physical and social environment to be therapeutic in