The role of nursing in caring for patients undergoing palliative surgery for advanced disease

Author(s):  
Anna Cathy Williams ◽  
Betty R. Ferrell ◽  
Gloria Juarez ◽  
Tami Borneman

Although newer in the traditional setting, palliative care and surgeries are emerging at a very rapid pace. As the path of the surgeon, the patient‘s disease trajectory, and the path of palliative intervention overlap, it is possible for professional and personal conflicts to arise, with negotiations needing to take place. Surgeons and palliative care colleagues, along with other health team members and patients, will need to collaborate on a very intimate level, and often.

Author(s):  
Virginia Sun ◽  
Tami Tittelfitz ◽  
Marjorie J. Hein

Surgery and chemotherapy are common treatment modalities used to manage disease and symptoms in palliative settings where the disease is incurable. These treatment modalities can lead to deteriorations in a patient’s quality of life (QOL). The benefits of palliative surgery and chemotherapy should always focus on QOL, symptom control, and symptom prevention. The purpose of this chapter is to provide an overview of the definition of palliative surgery and chemotherapy, describe common indications for surgery and chemotherapy for palliative treatment intent, and discuss the role of nursing in caring for patients who are receiving palliative surgery and chemotherapy.


Author(s):  
Jacquelyn Slomka

This chapter discusses the palliative care needs of people living with HIV (PLWH). Now considered a chronic condition, HIV presents specific challenges both for individuals who are long-term survivors and for those adults who are recently diagnosed. The initial diagnosis of a chronic condition can be devastating for anyone, but a diagnosis of HIV may be especially stressful and challenging due to the social stigma and history associated with it. For PLWH whose condition is well-controlled, the development of comorbidities associated with disease characteristics, medication, or the aging process speaks to the need for palliative care throughout the disease trajectory. This chapter focuses on the social context impinging on those needs. It provides palliative care content that can facilitate nurses’ collaborations with patients, as well as with physicians and other healthcare team members who care for adults with HIV.


Author(s):  
Patricia Maani-Fogelman

Hospital-based palliative care (HBPC) is often the primary contact between patients and the field of palliative care. As such, HBPC programs must be built to withstand the challenges and demands of the changing healthcare landscape and the shifting, often complex needs of the inpatient consultation. Time, energy, strong interpersonal communication skills, and dedication are key elements to building a successful HBPC program. Attention to detail and attentiveness to patient wishes round out the foundation of the continuum. HBPC is a forum for expansion of palliative care services into the medical clinics, outreach facilities, community-based practices, and home care venues. The role of nursing across this spectrum of care amid advancing chronic illness is a vital aspect of programmatic success. Ongoing education and research must be offered and resourced for HBPC and palliative care in general to remain steadfast and successful against the background of national healthcare reform.


Author(s):  
Kristi M. Lewis Tyran ◽  
Craig K. Tyran

As globalization and the prevalence of electronic communication technology has become more widespread, organizations are adapting and changing at a rapid pace. Many organizations are using “virtual teams” of people working across space and time as an organizational structure to enhance organizational flexibility and creativity in this changing environment (Duarte & Snyder, 1999; Townsend, DeMarie, & Hendrickson, 1998). As virtual teams become a more popular organizational tool, many researchers have begun to explore ways in which the performance of such teams may be enhanced (Cohen & Gibson, 2003). One aspect of teamwork that has traditionally had an important impact on team performance is team leadership. Leaders often facilitate effective task performance within a team. By assigning tasks to individuals with the skills, knowledge and abilities to perform best, as well as structuring the team to best accomplish its tasks, a leader can greatly increase the effectiveness and efficiency of a team (Hooijberg, Hunt, & Dodge, 1997; McGrath, 1984; O’Connell, Doverspike, & Cober, 2002). In addition to task-focused behaviors, leaders also motivate, coach and mentor team members toward higher levels of performance (Bass, 1985; Conger & Kanungo, 1998).


2020 ◽  
Vol 29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kátia Jamile da Silva ◽  
Carine Vendruscolo ◽  
André Lucas Maffissoni ◽  
Michelle Kuntz Durand ◽  
Mônica Ludwig Weber ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Objective: to know and reflect on the best practices in nursing and their interface with the Expanded Family Health and Basic Healthcare Centers (NASF-AB). Method: this is a participatory research based on Paulo Freire’s methodological framework and developed from thematic investigation, coding, decoding, and critical unveiling. The information was produced and analyzed in four Culture Circles, with an average of five nurses and duration of two hours each, between April and June 2018. The investigation revealed four generating themes, unveiled during the meetings. In this study, the theme “best nursing practices that favor relations with NASF-AB” will be discussed. Results: nurses acknowledge communication as a tool that promotes best practices in nursing. It was possible to deepen the dialogue and knowledge about NASF-AB’s work process and the role of nursing. Nurses act as a link between the support team and the Family Health team, a skill resulting from their training focused on management, having leadership and dialogue as resources for conflict resolution. Conclusion: the present study contributed to improve nurses’ thinking and acting in relation to the proposed theme. The reflections made during Culture Circles boosted transformative attitudes in the practice settings. Nurse approximation with NASF-AB favors autonomy and collaborative practices (understood as best practices), encouraging interprofessional and solve-problem actions within Basic Care.


Healthcare ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 63 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sherman

In Palliative Care, the unit of care is the patient and their family. Although members of the health care team often address the family caregiver’s opinions and concerns, the focus of care remains on the needs of the patient. The readiness and willingness of the family caregiver is often overlooked as they are expected to assume a complex caregiving role. When family caregivers are not intellectually or emotionally prepared or physically capable, the caregiver is at high risk for serious health issues and cognitive, emotional, and physical decline particularly as caregiving extends over time. Family caregivers are often a neglected and at-risk population. Illustrated through the use of a case study, this article addresses the complex role of family caregivers, as both health team members and second-order patients. It emphasizes the importance of family assessment and interventions to balance the burdens and benefits of family caregiving and protect caregivers’ health and well-being.


Children ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (7) ◽  
pp. 97 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei Chin ◽  
Tiina Jaaniste ◽  
Susan Trethewie

Siblings of children with life limiting conditions (LLC) are an important part of the broader family system and require consideration in the holistic care of the family. There can be considerable variation in the functioning and adjustment of these siblings. The current paper explores the resilience paradigm, particularly in the context of siblings of children with LLC and serious medical conditions. The potential impact of children living with a seriously ill brother or sister will be overviewed, and a range of functional outcomes considered. Factors contributing to sibling resilience are detailed, including individual, family, and broader external and social factors. Given the limited research with siblings of children with LLC, literature has also been drawn from the siblings of children with serious and/or chronic medical conditions. Implications for clinical practice and future research are considered. Pediatric palliative care services may be well placed to contribute to this body of research as they have commonly extended relationships with the families of children with LLC, which span across the child’s disease trajectory.


This chapter outlines the symptoms, epidemiology, aetiology, and differential diagnosis of dementia, with emphasis on advanced disease. It discusses the role of dementia treatments, the challenges faced with advanced disease, and guides to recognition and treatment of common symptoms, including behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia and pain. The chapter also discusses pharmacological and non-pharmacological approaches to management of dementia symptoms, highlighting the role of palliative care, when it is appropriate to refer, and terminal care. The chapter illustrates some of the controversial aspects of care. At the current rate there will be 850,000 people with dementia in the UK by 2015, and this number is forecast to increase to over 1 million by 2025 and over 2 million by 2051.This is contributing to one in four hospital admissions, with the health and social costs of dementia estimated to be more than stroke, heart disease, and cancer combined. Along with these worrying progressive epidemiological figures, we need to take into account the immense caring burden for families, carers, and society. End-stage dementia often falls between the cracks of specialization, with professionals feeling under-prepared for the intricacies of end-stage dementia management strategies. Palliative care has been slow in its involvement for multiple reasons, but primarily because dementia has a much slower disease trajectory than cancer, with an unclear prognosis.


2017 ◽  
Vol 38 (6) ◽  
pp. 753-774 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vanessa Pouthier

This article explores the role of griping and joking behaviors in cross-boundary teams. Those socio-emotional behaviors often go unnoticed in studies of team communication, as does more broadly the work of building relationships. Given the growing recognition that the quality of connections among team members significantly influences the quality of coordinating and knowledge-sharing practices in cross-boundary teams, this seems an important lacuna to address. Drawing on a qualitative study of a cross-occupational team responsible for palliative care and oncology patients, I illustrate how those mundane, recurrent communicative activities, which may appear tangential to the task at hand, have important relational and emotional consequences for the functioning of cross-boundary teams. Based on the observed characteristics and effects of a variety of griping and joking behaviors, I propose to conceptualize those communicative activities as identification rituals. I discuss the implications of this work for both research on the production of positive relational realities in cross-boundary teams and the study of organizational griping and humor.


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