Dying patient may help define nurse's role
May 1, 1998 less than 1 minute read
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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