Navigating Death in Nursing
Navigating Death in Nursing
(Navigating Death in Nursing)
Nursing Staff, week 4 discussion help
Question description
Please do a paragraph about this post with this instruction . post most have 4 or more sentences . you also have to have a high quality post from a content perspective. This means it also needs to do more than agree with or praise a class mate. If you agree with a classmate, explain why, give an example, share what you learned in the readings I have been in nursing for many years now, close on to 35 years and been in different types of nursing settings. After my training I worked in large teaching hospital and furthered my training by specializing in critical care nursing as well as in midwifery. But my most recent experiences have been in the critical care setting in a CCU/CVICU for many years, in fact in the same unit for now close on to 27 years, and have had to deal with some rather dire situations. I will always recall my first encounter with death as a student nurse, of a young gentleman who had the misfortune of having had cancer and expired from that. It was very difficult for me at that time as I was new to nursing and felt so sad for the patient and the family and it made me realize that life can be taken away whether you be young or old.
In my midwifery days, my encounter with an infant demise was extremely difficult and questioned the Lord as to why this should happen to such and innocent child. It took a lot of soul searching and found peace by talking to the chaplain of the facility.
(Navigating Death in Nursing)
I have found over the years that debriefing after incidences that have been difficult have made those encounters easier to deal with. Today, in the critical care setting, we have death occurring fairly frequently in our unit and it has had me think about my own mortality and of the life hereafter. Our facility has a debriefing session for difficult cases called “Teatime for the Soul”. We can call on our chaplains at any time to help us through these difficult moments and our unit staff have always found it of great relief once we all talk it through. The main purpose of these sessions is make death more acceptable and offers hope and promise for staff. For the family members, our facility has a chaplain available to them twenty four hours of the day and every day of the week. It is very helpful to have them help the family members through the grieving process.
(Navigating Death in Nursing)
Sometimes we are so busy trying to save a life that we as the nurses do not have time to talk to the family, such as during code situations and the chaplain comes to assist with the family, while we are trying to resuscitate the patient. I feel comforted that the family are not abandoned at the time they most need someone. When patients are placed on comfort care, we have members of the hospital who volunteer time, who function as companions to the patient if they have no one available to be with them during this time. This program is called “No one dies alone”. I find that most comforting that no one in our facility dies alone. As a nurse, quite a few patients have passed away.
I have learned to take care of the patient as well as myself spiritually. Death, I know is inevitable, but sometimes it is unexpected. When it is unexpected, that is when it is most difficult. My view on death has changed from the beginning of my nursing career till now. Death is no longer scary for me. My view is that my body is here on earth to do good and help others and that at death, I have something to look forward to. I believe that my soul lives on after the death of my body and believe that how you live life today impacts your soul in the hereafter. I believe in “karma”.
We all die at some point and how we live our lives and treat others is what reward be can hope for when we die. Our body dies but our souls are immortal. My only fear is how my children will cope with my passing. I try to keep my house in order, so that they won’t have deal with too much! To me dying is easy, but what is left behind is what is difficult.
