Terminal Restlessness

For the purpose of this assignment I have chosen to reflect the care given to a middle aged gentlemen in a hospice setting. In compliance with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) code of conduct (2008) it is increasingly important to receive full consent to use a patient for this case study. As non-verbal consent was used I will reflect later how this was obtained. Therefore I will go ahead in using this patient however, I will ensure that the patient and place of practice remains anonymous due to confidentiality. Maintaining confidentiality is a significant part to a nurse’s role as stated in the NMC Code of Conduct (2008):

This author’s personal perceptions concerning patients facing a lingering terminal illness, have been shaped by over 20 years of critical care nursing experience. Facing death and illness on a daily basis requires self-examination and a high degree of comfort with one’s own mortality, limits and values. Constant exposure to the fragility of life forces respect for the whole person and the people who love them. A general approach to patients who are actively dying is to allow them to define what they want and need during this time. The nurse’s role

The researcher will conduct an anonymous survey with all participants (palliative care enrolled nurses and enrolled nurses in the casual pool who are not supervised by the researcher) to identify their level of confidence in caring for the patient with terminal restlessness. The research will examine the potential risk and the benefits an ethical consideration that will be apply through this research. The survey approach will be used for this research due to a potential conflict of interest, easier and cost-effective.

Hospice and Palliative care nursing can be as rewarding as saving a life. Looking forward to the interview brings anticipation for further knowledge and making legislative connections.

“It’s down to seven seconds. You see the time…Whittenburg…. Oh it’s a long ways, Oh he’s there! They won it…on a dunk!” Billy Packer said this when covering the historical run by the NC State Wolfpack to win the Division 1 NCAA tournament in a dramatic fashion. A team with no chance of making the tournament, let alone winning the championship, does the impossible and wins the NCAA Division 1 championship. Despite NC State being a smaller school compared to the big basketball powerhouses like Virginia, UNC, Houston and many others, they had players work and will their way to the finish line. If players were paid, you wouldn’t see players like Michael Jordan, Hakeem Olajuwon, or Ralph Sampson on different teams. It would be the college with the most money, could pay the best student-athletes, the most money and Cinderella stories for the most part would disappear. Dynasties of college sports would be made. Money would ruin college sports more than it already has. It has already stripped championships, ruined players images and futures, and tarnished reputations of colleges. The Fab 5, the near “3-Pete” for Oklahoma University, and the USC Trojans football team scandal, are just a few instances where college sports were affected wrongly by the idea of “play for pay.” Colleges and Universities should not pay students to participate in college sports because of all the benefits the athletes receive, the fact that the colleges wouldn’t be able to pay for other

Nurses: Assist the patients and families to cope with the end-of-life process such as assessing and

It is the nurse’s responsibility to remove their personal beliefs when providing care to the patient. If the nurse is persistent in their own beliefs and values there can be a disruption in the successful transition to palliative care. Nurses may feel that they are failing at their job when a patient chooses to go into palliative treatment. The nurse may question their performance as a nurse and have uncertainty regarding whether or not they could of done something more for that

The study discussed theoretical concepts such as the interrelation of pain in palliative care and the nurses’ perception and orientation to pain throughout the whole article. However, the study did not state any nursing theories and did not mention anything about it being related to the research. Upon reading the whole article, I believe that the concept and approach of this study correlate with Katharine Kolcaba’s theory of comfort. The comfort theory was first developed in the 1990s and clearly defined comfort as an enhanced feeling of a person’s well being, a sense of being strengthened and is definitely individualized and holistic (Krinsky, Murillo, & Johnson, 2014). Kolcaba believes that comfort is what provides the framework and the core

The purpose of this assignment is to demonstrate understanding of long term conditions and palliative care. Nursing care in general entails holistic care and collaborative care of individuals of all ages, families, groups and communities, whether sick or well (Royal College of Nursing, (RCN) 2007). Better management of lifelong conditions has been the priority of the National Health Service since the 1990s. When long term conditions are managed well in the community, patients’ can live a quality life without visiting hospital frequently (RCN, 2011). In Britain, six in ten people are reported to be suffering from long term conditions that currently cannot be cured; and these people are often suffering from more than one condition that makes their care challenging. It is estimated that by 2030 the UK will have double the number of people aged 85 years or over, who are living with one or more long term condition (Department of Health, 2014).

The great Christian writer Tertullian was born in Roman controlled Carthage, now known better as Tunisia. Around 200 AD he famously wrote De spectaculis, a work outlining the failing of the Roman moral system based around the gladiatorial games and the circus. Tertullian received a good education growing up and partook in “pagan” rituals such as sexual intercourse and observing the gladiatorial games. However, when the Roman Empire began executing Christians he felt compelled to become a Christian himself. Tertullian outlined clearly in his essay that the failing of the games lay in idolatry, and in the belief that ‘Thou shall not kill’. He writes this essay to compel all Christians to give up the games in order to gain favour in the eyes

This might be one reason why some patients choose conventional treatment instead of choosing a hospice program, there is many other factors that may contribute to this decision such as; financial status. This research will help give nurses a stronger knowledge base of characteristics and advantage of hospice care. In addition, nurses will be able to explain the advantages of Hospice programs to more of their patients, thus, they will be able to educate and encourage more families to choose hospice care. Not only will it help the patient live out a comfortable life it will also help the caregivers with

I've been for the majority of my adult life in the counseling area, beginning in high school, where I finished an internship in a community mental health center. Working with substance abuse and the mental health field since 1982, I've lived since 2003 in the Asheville region. I graduated from Tennessee State University in 1996 with and M.S. In Counselling. Over time, I've worked in diverse settings, including several years as a school-based counsel at Enka Middle and High Schools, along with Hominy Elementary, and over a decade in home-based counseling program focusing on helping families avoid removing kids because of their delinquency, or misuse or neglect in the parent. I also have worked at large community mental health facilities, including

I have been a registered nurse at UCLA for 18 months. One particular issue that has captured my attention is the utilization of palliative care in health care. Because nurses are generally at the bedside all the time, they have an important role to play in voicing the importance of its utilization and implementation in the patient’s care.

The case study based on the palliative patient Mrs. Mavis looks at issues both the family and the patient are dealing with in regards to the end of life treatment Mrs. Mavis is receiving. Mrs. Mavis is a palliative patient, currently unconscious, who is dying and only wants comfort measures within her nursing care. This was made clear through her advanced care directive, which was made weeks before beginning to receive her end of life care. Mrs. Mavis’ comfort measures include pain relief, hygiene and keeping her comfortable. Mrs. Mavis’ family want her to have fluids and medications to help improve her health. They also want oxygen and pain relief to help with her breathing. Issues such as educating and supporting the family, pain management, the effectiveness of having an advanced care directive and pain assessment will be evaluated to determine the best effective interventions for Mrs. Mavis and her families care. Interventions that will be discussed through-out this essay include the use of analgesia medication, the use of subcutaneous injections and syringe drivers, emotional support for the family, effective communication, educating the family on Mrs. Mavis’ wishes and the importance of having an advanced care directive. These interventions will be evaluated to ensure they are the best practice for Mrs. Mavis’ care.

* Attention to residents’ transition from active curative care to palliative care (with comfort care and symptom management) requires that care team members provide the resident and their families with sufficient information about the transition process to facilitate decision making. This provision of information can reduce residents’ and families’ concerns and increase their satisfaction regarding the appropriateness of a palliative approach.