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End of Life Care

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End of Life Care: Family Health
McKendree University
NSG 420 Fall 2014

Introduction In nursing, the goal of care is usually to restore the patient back to the highest level of health possible. In some cases, however, the goals of care change when a curative approach is no longer appropriate. The new goals of care could simply be palliation and pain control rather than a restoration back to full health. This type of care is called palliative care. Palliative care is not the same as end-of-life care, but the two go hand-in-hand at times. The goal of end-of-life care is a “good” death, good being defined by the patient. Palliation is part of that “good” death. Both palliative care and end-of-life …show more content…

Dying is a process that involves the entire family; that is to say, the family that is defined by the person. The nurse must be aware that this is not only an individual process but a family process. This involves recognizing family dynamics and communication patterns and facilitating healthy interactions. Kaakinen et al (2015) discusses the two types of health care teams that will be involved in the patient’s care: multiprofessional and interprofessional. The multiprofessional model is an older model that does not focus on holistic care. Care is fragmented with an autocratic leader, vertical communication, separate goals of the professionals involved, and families are peripheral to the process (Kaakinen et al., 2015). The preferred model is the interprofessional model emphasizing a team approach, holistic care of the patient, horizontal communication, and involvement of the family (Kaakinen et al., 2015). The nurse should keep this collaborative approach in mind when dealing with any patient case, involving all teams associated with the patient for the best outcome. It is important to remember that care of the patient does not end when the patient dies. After the death there is still work to be done in the form of comforting the bereaved family members. It has been reported that some

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