Preview

Being A Nurse Essay

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
480 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Being A Nurse Essay
I believe one of the hardest aspects of being a nurse is having to deal with a patient’s death, especially if it’s unexpected, and you have grown close to them. Although I am not a nurse, I do know the pain of losing someone dear to me, just as every individual does. As a new nurse, of course, it would be difficult to handle a sudden and bloody patient death. As of right now I don’t know how I would handle it because I have not had to face such a situation. Dealing with a patient’s sudden death would be really emotional, but I would try to move on from the experience. I usually try to make light of a depressing situation. When I have issues or something on my mind, I talk to friends about how I am feeling. I think a way to get pass through …show more content…
Talking to the family member in general after a patient’s death is already tough enough, but talking about an autopsy and funeral home could be even more sensitive. Culture and religion can also play a factor in whether or not the family wants an autopsy. I believe knowing the families believes prior to the situation can help for a more subtle way to talk to them. In order to say goodbye following a death I believe you have to understand your own feeling about death. In order to help others through the process of death, you must be true, but also be able to let go. Experiencing a death could be thought as privilege because you did everything in your power to help that person, and you were lucky enough to be in their presence. It is very heartbreaking, but I think there must be a way to separate work from family/friends life, so you can move on from that day. Depending on how close you were with the patient there are different ways to deal with death. I could try to see the positive in it; at least they are no longer suffering from what they once were. Understanding and accepting that dying is a part of life and most of the time is not within our control is an important part to coping with the tragedy. Death is always going to be hard, but it’s about making the best of the situation and trying not to hold on to that

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Be Honest: Give as honest of an explanation of the death as possible. Avoid euphemisms (like…

    • 349 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Caring for a patient that is dying can be a very difficult situation for anyone…

    • 1460 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    introduce talking about the loss and encourage the grieving person to ventilate and understand the…

    • 96 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Anticipatory Grieving Case

    • 2870 Words
    • 12 Pages

    The family members play an important role and helping care for the patient helps them with the grieving process while providing a supportive environment to express their grief while coping with their feelings (Davidson, 2010). The second intervention would to have been to take a moment to request a chaplain or ask some one to request one for the family to talk to them about what is happening and how they are coping with this situation and if there is a need for spiritual counseling for them or the patient. This gives the family members a chance to express the desire to have any rituals performed for the patient. Also, to help them cope more effectively with the psychological and emotional stain of their family member’s illness and the dying process (Davidson, 2010). Last, the third intervention would be getting the family a list of some activities that the family members can do that will help facilitate with the anticipatory grieving and dealing with the feelings of grief. Being active gives the family members a purpose and helps them to make sense of what is happening. This helps with reshaping their lives and find new meaning in life without their family member (Davidson,…

    • 2870 Words
    • 12 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The next stage is anger. People who are sick or watching a loved one die may be angry at themselves or others. They may try to find another person or thing to place the blame of their reality on. They can be very upset with themselves or doctors or other relatives. As caregivers, it 's important to be accepting of this stage of grievance and not be judgmental when people who are grieving come off as cold and rude, the patient has to experience this stage of grief in their own way, and work through it in their own time so their harsh words should not be taken to heart.…

    • 1102 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Final Gifts Research Paper

    • 1713 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Hospice nurses by profession, they were able to observe and document the dying process of their patients, allowing us to learn from experiences of others. The end of life is certainly filled with emotions of all involved, physical changes, spiritual experiences, and highlighted by relationships with friends and family as death draws near. The patient often knows they are dying; their final mission is to make amends, find closure, and wrap up any “loose ends” in their life. It is important for the dying to know their family will be taken care of, that they accept their departure. Family should celebrate the life of the dying; their accomplishments, relationships and…

    • 1713 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    A patient passing away is emotional to healthcare provider as well as family. Telling other patient who inquire on the passed patient may be difficult and hard to explain. It's important to find a good word or the best word that you can think and tell them calm and professionally. I'm so sorry to tell you this, Mary was very sick and her condition was worsening and the treatment that weren't helping. Unfortunately she pass away. Some people are not handle very well with the bad new or hard time to accepting…

    • 93 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    A nurse’s primary responsibility is providing patient care in a responsible, safe, and ethical manner. In a scenario such as voluntary euthanasia, the nurse’s involvement consists of supporting the patient, their family members, and the other health care staff once the life-terminating act begins (De Bal, Gastmans, & Verpoort, 2006). Sometimes, the best thing the nurse can do in a situation such as this is to simply be present, offer support, and keep in mind the ethical principles…

    • 1369 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    A. Unlike all the other careers, becoming a Registered Nurse can be fairly easy to get the job because there are always job openings and they pay good…

    • 1752 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Nobody wants to die, but death is an inevitable and complex phenomena. To say goodbye to loved one is always difficult. In some cases, it is harder when death comes sooner than later by some serious diagnosis. I think the most important point that a health-care professional needs to consider on the subject of death, dying or grieving is to respect the wishes of patients and families. Health-care professionals should provide training and education about death, dying, and bereavement to the families. Also, healthcare providers should be familiar with the ethics and cultures of the patients and families which they belong to. Death, dying or grieving processes can be culturally or traditionally different among patients. “Some physicians can keep…

    • 254 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The death of a close one can be shocking, mentally impairing, and in many cases may lead to suicide. It may be true that it is difficult to cope with a problem…

    • 880 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    End of Life Care

    • 3543 Words
    • 15 Pages

    Death is a touchy subject. People pretend it is something that does not happen and refuse to talk about or address it. I am an ICU nurse. I have been for six years. I have dealt with plenty of death, in my own way. Death is a part of life. Whether it is something that is expected or not, it is our destiny. Having dealt with the suicide of my son’s father at a young age, death is something most of us avoid or do not expect. One is never prepared for it. Some refuse to accept it and move forward.Whether it is a loved one battling cancer for multiple years or a sudden suicide/death, it is never acceptable. Working in the ICU, I have seen many a prolonged death. Family members are never prepared for the death of a loved one. Whether or not my patient is ready to move on, family will do everything possible to prolong the death in hopes that the patient’s condition will improve or a “new” cure will save their lives. I have gone through spending an hour resuscitating a 20 year old with severe congestive heart failure to taking my time resuscitating a 98 year old riddled with cancer. Regardless of my beliefs, it is never easy for family members to accept their loved ones are no longer among us. I have mixed views about death regarding a person battling cancer. Many a times I have had a patient who is a “full code,” all life saving efforts to be attempted, that has metastasis of cancer to their liver, brain, and bones requesting all life saving efforts. In the medical community, we know life saving efforts are futile. The patient is in so much pain they can hardly stand it. They have no quality of life. Family members are hopeful that some medication will take effect and the cancer will disappear. But, by law, we are to make every effort possible at resuscitation. If a person has a good prognosis in surviving cancer, every effort should be made to prolong the person’s life. If the cancer has metastized and is now affecting other organs, brain, bone…

    • 3543 Words
    • 15 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Best Essays

    End Of Life Issues

    • 1536 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Practitioners who work in palliative care and with hospice patients they lose patients very frequently. Whether close to these patients or not, their job requires them to put their emotions aside and care for these patients as well as view these loses as normal; the cycle of life and death. However the reality can’t be ignored that these incidents are affecting them in some way, shape, or form. For a doctor it is hard for them to not feel guilty over a patients death. This is because there are such high expectations for them to not make mistakes. Doctors are often put on a pedestal as being stoic and lack emotion, where they must be professional at all times. The truth is, however, that they are human and often times will relate with a patient on a personal level. Either because they relate to the patients ailments, or perhaps the patient reminds them of a family member. Other attributes may be that a substantial amount of time was spent with this patient. There seems to be even more problems with this area when it comes to general practice. Often times if the doctor was intensely involved with the dying patient they would make home visits. The typical hospice nurse lasts two years and then moves on to a different field and this may be due to the grief related stress which may have something to do with the fact that it seems unprofessional to express feeling of mourning. There isn’t much grief training built into nursing school, but perhaps there should be. The internet full of stories of nurses grieving, and a lot of these include hospice nurses. They are all heart felt and sincere stories, but almost all of them explain that they have been working for ‘X’ amount of years and never really allowed themselves the opportunity to grieve. As a human, a person is guaranteed to experience the death of a loved one at least one, but as a…

    • 1536 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Better Essays

    Of course, the death is unexpected to family and friends. I personally think that is is harder to cope with the death of someone who one might have just spoken with, or seen a few days ago. When a person has a chronic condition, one is sometimes more likely to understand the death process and feel that that patient is better off because they are not suffering anymore. I think it is important to know that different ages and family dynamics may result in a different grief response. There is not one type of response that is more acceptable than the other. It is based solely on each individual. Through these articles, I have learned how parents, children, and ose friends friends react to death. With the knowledge that I have gained from these articles, I will be better able to interact with my patients family and anticipate their psychosocial needs. Often times, the death of the patient is not immediate, and the family has a few days to deal with the reality that they are losing a loved one. I am able to better refer them to the proper resources that we have on the unit, such as chaplain services, and child life services, and prepare them for this difficult time. Even if death is not expected, the loss of function of the patient can also be a contributing factor to grief as well. Knowing how the loss of the patient will affect each family member different will prepare me to better interact and console each person individually. This information will also help me prepare family members for the reactions they might see in small children, young adult friends, and elderly…

    • 1253 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    End of Life Care

    • 2087 Words
    • 7 Pages

    One concern voiced by many nurses is a not knowing what to do or say during end-of-life care (Sherwen, 2014). In the case of cancer, in particular, which has become more of a long-term illness, nurses feel uncomfortable and may miss opportunities in patient care (Sherwen, 2014). The following will be a discussion of palliative/end-of-life care and what the nurse can do to help the family and patient during a difficult time. A successful case is one in which the…

    • 2087 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays