Patient Loss Essay

All too often in regards to medical treatment, physicians are taught everything known about the scientific approaches to disease but still fail to realize the important details of how the disease impacts the individual. Many physicians do not show empathy to their patients and instead just focus on the current diagnosis and the probable outcome. This creates a divide between patient and provider and can even lead to negative feelings of the patient that far outweigh the diagnosis itself. A feeling of hopelessness and despair may accompany the empty feeling that comes with failing to explore the patient’s perspective on care. In this essay, Parrish states,

Furthermore, these presumptions were not entirely correct. Although, my patients were in their late 70s, with limited mobility, reduced cognizance, and from lower socioeconomical class backgrounds, I did not contemplate the actual humanistic qualities of my patients. I completely neglected to acknowledge the unique lives I was about to enter. Alternatively, looking back with some disappointment, I was not able to conduct a deep, meaningful conversation about the implications of death. I predicted I would discuss different views of death and dying, but this subject is much more personal than I imagined. In conjunction, I did not encounter a bitter attitude from my patients, as I predicted. However, both my patients’ conditions determined their willingness to engage upon each visit. Sometimes patients were too tired to hold a conversation, often overwhelmed by questions about their lives. During one visit I asked my patient about his hobbies when he was younger. He proceeded to discuss the wonderful recreational vehicle cross-country trips he and his wife would take. This led to sorrow about the loss of his wife, dog, and inability to conduct the trips in the future. Aside from the unpredictable interactions themselves, I did not forecast how my patient’s conditions would dictate our visits together.

During my shadowing experiences at UAB Hospital, one particular event was prominent in my decision to pursue a career in nursing. While in the emergency department, a suicidal patient, a quadriplegic who lost her limbs due to a spinal cord injury, was brought in for her second visit. This experience caused me to tap into my ability to stay calm and reassuring during an emergent situation, and it reminded me of my father, who lost two of his limbs in a train accident. My father’s accident in itself taught me strength and courage because he, like the patient, occasionally feels forlorn, which leads to suicidal thoughts. Watching the nurses care for my father made me realize that a nurse must be perceptive and knowledgeable about their patient’s

Giving end of life care to my terminally ill mother has ignited a passion in me to read Medicine and make a real difference to people's lives. Caring for her whilst she was bedridden gave me an invaluable insight into the care of the critically ill. Dealing with death is a crucial part of a doctor's job and I feel that the past year has made me much more aware, sensitive and prepared me to deal with this aspect of the job. I am undergoing an induction for my job as Clinical Support Worker. This will allow me to gain familiarity within the clinical environment. Through work experience which I organised at a GP Surgery and Bedford Hospital, I have gained an insight into life as a doctor; I saw the importance of the surgeon having a high leg excision of a

The purpose of this paper is to assess Patient X’s oral health and systemic health to determine how both affect the oral cavity. Patient X has a limited medical history, however, the patient does use tobacco products and consumes alcohol. It is important to identify the link between tobacco use and alcohol consumption to systemic diseases and oral health effects. Patient X also exhibits prehypertension and seasonal allergies. The medications for seasonal allergies can potentially increase the chance of xerostomia. Hypertension is important to identify in order to discuss the risk factors and the importance of seeing a physician. The dental hygienist will gather all of this information in order to properly develop a treatment plan for patient

A review of the medical records indicates that she. She suffers from chronic stable HTN, chronic stable hyperlipidemia, chronic stable NIDDM, chronic GERD and chronic arrhythmias..

I digested the fact that something is appreciated only if it's about to be taken away. I remember all the doctors buzzing around her like flies; her life was at stake and at the last moment the doctors saving her. Examining the doctors they seemed nothing less than heroes to me. That’s when I realized this is the profession I wanted to pursue. My first step was volunteering to change her bandages and measure the amount of blood coming out of the drain tubes and then making a report to the doctor so he can see how fast she is healing. After doing that I was driven by wanting to follow this profession at all

In taking this approach this is essentially the essence of Aristotle’s “Golden Mean”, by trying to balance criticisms of aid in dying, and realties of what the impact aid in dying will have on society. In trying to find this balance the authors referred to the important role that nurses play in the day to day interactions with their patients, and their dual role of their interactions with the physicians. In having these dual roles, there must be a balance that is struck between the patient-nurse, patient- doctor, and nurse-doctor. In bringing seeing how the relationships of each of these are interconnected to say the least, it makes the most sense to try and find where the middle ground can be reached where all 3 can come out with just the right amount of

Many people believe strongly that the only way to save a terminally ill person from undue suffering, is to help them die. However, the idea of patient aid-in-dying is a very controversial topic. With this practice, doctors can help their terminally ill patients end their lives, if the patient has made the decision that they can no longer endure the pain they face. Patient aid-in-dying, or PAD for short, first started to be used avidly in 1980 when the group, World Federation of Right to Die Societies, was formed to advocate for the use of lethal drugs in hospitals. The medications used are highly safeguarded only to be administered to patients who are terminally ill. In addition, patients must first participate in numerous forums, undergo multiple assessments by various doctors, before

Both physicians and nurses reported that their main source of stress on the job was dealing with issues of mortality. When interacting with nurses in transplant operations, doctors were known to be “tense” and “curt” with the nurses. Additionally, some of the doctors expressed “sadness” and “frustration” in the event of losing a patient. Both doctors and nurses expressed the difficulty in carrying out "difficult conversations" with the families of patients, that involved palliative care and prolonged life

I grew up listening to these words over again, until they became a part of me. As the oldest, it was my responsibility to take care of my younger brothers when my parents were on call. Our apartment in Toronto was opposite the hospital so this happened quite often. My parents' lives as doctors seemed like rollercoasters that never came down. They always had fascinating stories to tell, as well as interesting patient profiles. Sometimes, my mom took us to work. Her office always intrigued us, especially because the hallway had motion sensor lights that we'd never seen.

In addition to acute injuries, I also became aware of the burden chronic conditions, such as COPD and diabetes, can have on a patient's life and the healthcare system. Prior to this experience, I had never realized the number of individuals living with serious medical problems or in circumstances that prevented them from accessing care. I was inspired to see the ER physicians working to ensure that every patient receives attention and the needed treatment in addition to comforting family members and providing education to patients about their conditions. During my time as a scribe, I have also witnessed the challenging side of medicine - when saving a life is not possible and families must be informed of a loved one's passing or decisions regarding DNR status. Situations such as these have taught me the importance of emotional capability and communication skills for a career in

All patients in the hospital have a story behind them that brought them to the hospital. Being a nurse for nine months, some patients have left a footprint in my mind and heart. One such patient was Mrs. R. She was diagnosed with a tumor in her abdomen which then metastasized to her lungs. It was a weekend morning, in which I was getting reports on my patients. The previous shift nurse gave the report on Mrs. R and told me that she was forty-six-year-old Hispanic woman with metastasized cancer to the lungs. Patient recently came to know about the diagnosis and never had any symptoms or pain, but the patient was in the last stage. When I went into the patient room to introduce myself, I found that the patient had been crying for whole night.

Doctors, and nurses who frequently spend time near death and dying patients have a lesser fear of dying themselves and are more comfortable providing care for the terminally ill. Health care practitioners tend to have different perspectives on death and dying because they must see death daily. However, the personal attitude of said healthcare practitioner “towards death and dying patients may influence the care they are able to provide.” (Olokor 51). Newly graduated nurses and doctors have a harder time providing the best care they can because they are not used to the intensity of death and may feel uncomfortable around terminally ill patients. The health practitioners who received “more years of nursing practice, more hours of palliative care

First of all, I learned that it is no longer rare to see a professional, especially a physician, who is open with his/her emotions. I always hear that doctors should maintain an air of detached concern, to promote unbiased judgments and for self-protection, but from what I experienced I know that this is not an easy task as we will be attached to some of our patients at some point in time. From the stories I heard in class, I know that sometimes emotions can be so powerful that you need to step out of the room to hold your tears. It is true that this is part of human compassion, but physicians need to be careful not to be too emotionally involved that they get overwhelmed by it. We always learn in medical school how to diagnose, treat and address the disease process; however, what we fail to learn is how to respond to the emotional needs of the patients. Sometimes, all what the patient needs is a statement like, “I am here for you.” This inner conflict between rationality and emotionality can be a source of stress to physicians. However, we are not machines after all and we will learn with time how to integrate both in our