Everybody isn’t comfortable
around dying people or even having conversations about them. But nurses in the intensive care unit (ICU) are confronted with this reality daily. Many have found ways to
manage their personal adaptations and assist families in
making their own adjustments when the time comes to discuss continuing
aggressive treatment or shifting to end-of-life palliative care. ICU nurses help families negotiate consensus in these decisions.
The ICU dying process can be
viewed as a story with several themes related to communication between nurses
and families. These are the four parts of that story:
1) Building relationships and general communication
2) Recognizing the
need to transition to palliative care
3) Facilitating
palliative care
4) Providing
dignified care throughout the dying process
ICU research involving 19 experienced intensive care nurses focused
on their communication with families navigating the difficult path of transitioning from aggressive care to palliative care.
This kind of research is important for caregivers because it helps them
understand better how to talk about and reflect on the complex communication
necessary for good end-of-life care.
In this video, the “3
Wishes Project” brings peace to the dying process for critically ill ICU patients and their loved ones. Family and clinician responses have been
overwhelmingly positive.
Frances Shani Parker, Author
Becoming Dead Right: A Hospice Volunteer
in Urban Nursing Homes is available
in paperback and e-book editions in America and other countries at online and
offline booksellers.
Dignity is something that every person deserves, no matter the situation when it comes to health. Thank you for posting this.
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