End-Of-Life Care Role
It is an emotional time for the people who have terminal illness or diseases that can’t be reversed, such as when their cancer is at the late stage. A nurse has various roles to perform in regards to providing end-of-life care or palliative care, which are: care provider, educator, advocator, and facilitator (Lewis, 2013). As a care provider, a nurse would perform simple tasks, such as cleaning the patient’s room or adjusting the room light. As an educator, the nurse provides information to the patient and his or her family members about the treatments and addresses their concerns. This also applies to being an advocator or facilitator, such as providing guidance or encouragement. All of these roles are similar to each other in one way:
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making the patients feel comfortable until they pass. One of the factors to consider when providing family-centered care at the end of life is understanding what these patients and their family members are going through.
These patients who are coming into a facility for end-of-life care are afraid to die. There are some patients who are struggling to find ways to prolong life through medical treatments; according to the article, “Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End,” there was a mother who had to deal with lung cancer. She tried so hard to survive by following various cancer treatments (Gawande, 2014). Another factor to consider is how they will die. Some may perceive that dying will be painful or they might even be afraid that they would lose their dignity (Lewis, 2013). Lastly, it is important to respect the patient’s wishes; for example, when I used to work at the skilled nursing facility a few years ago as Licensed Vocational Nurse, I remembered taking care of a patient who had cancer. The patient made a request that he didn’t want any more medications for his discomfort. I didn’t want him to give up on his medications; however, I had to respect his request and contacted the doctor to discontinue his medications. A few weeks later, the wife of the patient told me that he had passed away and that he wanted to thank me for respecting his
request.
making the patients feel comfortable until they pass. One of the factors to consider when providing family-centered care at the end of life is understanding what these patients and their family members are going through.
These patients who are coming into a facility for end-of-life care are afraid to die. There are some patients who are struggling to find ways to prolong life through medical treatments; according to the article, “Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End,” there was a mother who had to deal with lung cancer. She tried so hard to survive by following various cancer treatments (Gawande, 2014). Another factor to consider is how they will die. Some may perceive that dying will be painful or they might even be afraid that they would lose their dignity (Lewis, 2013). Lastly, it is important to respect the patient’s wishes; for example, when I used to work at the skilled nursing facility a few years ago as Licensed Vocational Nurse, I remembered taking care of a patient who had cancer. The patient made a request that he didn’t want any more medications for his discomfort. I didn’t want him to give up on his medications; however, I had to respect his request and contacted the doctor to discontinue his medications. A few weeks later, the wife of the patient told me that he had passed away and that he wanted to thank me for respecting his
request.