Dying patient may help define nurse's role
Dying patient may help define nurse's role
Doug Smith, MS, MA, MDIV, executive director of Kanawha Hospice in Dunbar, WV, has devised this checklist of items a dying patient could use to determine how a nurse should treat him or her.
The checklist is from Smith's book, Caregiving, published in 1997 by MacMillan Press of New York.
I would like my nurse to help me . . .
· find medication for pain relief;
· find medication for other physical problems;
· address some emotional issues;
· learn more about alternatives to pain medication;
· learn about ways to put more quality into my life;
· understand the length and status of my last days;
· communicate with my physician(s);
· make more decisions about my own well-being;
· adjust to loss of control over bodily functions;
· communicate my concerns and wishes to my family and close friends;
· explore religious or spiritual issues;
· communicate feelings toward a particular person;
· finish a project;
· something else.
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