What is bereavement? Shakespeare once wrote “all that lives must die, passing through nature to eternity”. Death is one of the largest causes of bereavement, although not exclusively. Bereavement is the term used for the emotions and behaviours felt and displayed by a person who has suffered some form of loss, particularly the death of a person close to them or known to them, (Egan, 2003).
Coping with bereavement Coping with the emotions and behaviours of a family who have been bereaved can be extremely stressful. If you have cared for a patient over a period of time and have come to know them and their family well it can be hard not to feel some degree of emotional involvement. Trying to cope with a bereaved family can bring on feelings of inadequacy and lead to stress, (Kenworthy, Snowley and Gilling, 2002). It is in this type of situation that the environment you work in becomes very important. To feel
References: ALEXANDER, M., FAWCETT, J. and RUNCIMAN, P., 2000. Nursing Practice, Hospital and Home. 2nd ed. Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone. p628. EGAN, K., 2003. Grief and Bereavement Care: With sufficient support, grief and bereavement can be transformative. American Journal of Nursing. Vol.103, No.9, p42. HAYES, N., 2000. Foundations of Psychology 3rd ed. London: Thomson Learning. p511. HOCKER, S. and TROFINO, J., 2003. Transformational Leadership: The Development of a Model of Nursing Case Management by the Army Nurse Corps. Lippincott’s Case Management. Vol.8, No.5, p209, 210. HUBER, D., 2000. Leadership and Nursing Care Management. 2nd ed. Pennsylvania: W.B Saunders Company. pp464, 465, 50, 60, 61, 63, 64, 253, 321, 322. JINKER, J., The Leadership Grid and Situational Leadership. 1999. [Online]. Available from: http://www.unf.edu/~jinj0001/theleadershipgrid.html [21st May 2004] KENWORTHY, N., SNOWLEY, G LAING, K., 2003. Teambuilding. Gastroenterology Nursing. Vol.26, No.4, p156-157. McHALE, J. and TINGLE, J., 2001. Law and Nursing 2nd ed. Edinburgh: Butterworth-Heinemann. p42. McNICHOL, E., 2000. How to be a Model Leader. Nursing Standard. Vol.14, No.45, p24. NURSING AND MIDWIFERY COUNCIL, 2002. Code of Professional Conduct. London: Nursing and Midwifery Council. pp6, 7, 8, 10, 3. READ, S., 2002. Loss and Bereavement: a nursing response. Nursing Standard. Vol.16, No.37, p47. THOMAS, N., ed., 1998. The John Adair Handbook of Management and Leadership. London: Thorogood Limited. pp145, 150.