Fearing Death and Caring for the Dying

1986 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard W. Momeyer
Keyword(s):  
Health Care Workers ◽  
Quality Care ◽  
Terminally Ill ◽  
Human Condition ◽  
Fear Of Death ◽  
Optimal Care ◽  
Death Denial ◽  
Care Workers ◽  
Denial Of Death ◽  
In Virtue Of

It is frequently alleged that health care workers with higher than statistically normal fear of death are, in virtue of that characteristic, ill equipped to render optimal care to the terminally ill. The plausibility of this claim rests on anumber of highly dubious claims about the nature and status of death anxiety and its relation to the phenomenon of death denial. I argue that the fear of death is not nearly so undesirable as supposed, that it may well be psychologically unavoidable, grounded in the human condition, and by and large altogether reasonable. Moreover, it is seriously confusing to equate the fear of death with the denial of death. Once we are clear about these matters, it can be seen that not merely is the fear of death compatible with the capacity to render quality care to the dying, but such care is unlikely to be given by those who do not candidly and honestly acknowledge the reality of their own fear and struggle to avoid denial.

A Proposal For A Nonreinstatement Rule In Unfair Labor Practice Cases Involving Patient Abuse

1985 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 319-341
Author(s):  
Clare T. Tully
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Workers ◽  
Labor Relations ◽  
Quality Care ◽  
Disciplinary Action ◽  
Non Profit ◽  
Health Care Institutions ◽  
Care Workers ◽  
Union Activists ◽  
Patient Abuse

AbstractNursing home discharges of employees based on patient abuse raise a difficult issue when the motivating factor for the disciplinary action is union activism. A tension is created between the rights of employees to engage in protected concerted activity and the rights of patients to quality care. In 1974, Congress passed the Health Care Institutions Amendments, which granted to non-profit health care workers collective organizing and bargaining rights substantially similar to those which workers in other industries had enjoyed for decades under the National Labor Relations Act. Congress intended to give health care workers only that degree of parity, however, which is compatible with the provision of high quality patient care. The agency charged with enforcing the Act, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), has failed to distinguish employee misconduct in industrial settings from patient abuse in health care institutions when fashioning remedies for discriminatorily discharged union activists. The NLRB typically has ordered the reinstatement, with back pay, of the patient abuser as the patient’s primary care-giver. This Article suggests that a front pay remedy is more appropriate to these cases because it protects the patient’s right to be free from abuse without sacrificing employee unionization rights.

scholarly journals Guidelines for the orthopedic surgeon in the era of COVID-19

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Monther A. Gharaibeh ◽  
Badera Al Mohammad ◽  
Besher Gharaibeh ◽  
Laith Khasawneh ◽  
Saeed Al Naser
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Workers ◽  
Orthopaedic Surgery ◽  
Quality Care ◽  
Health Care Facilities ◽  
The Other ◽  
Work Flow ◽  
Care Workers ◽  
Care Facilities ◽  
Current Outbreak

Amid the current pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), orthopaedic surgery was one of the fewer specialties that remained active managing emergent and urgent orthopaedic and trauma cases. On the other hand, with the continued spread of this pandemic and its associated socioeconomic confinement and unpredictability of the pandemic curve; many health care facilities were forced into halting all elective and non-urgent activities including orthopaedic specialties. This in part was to help in reallocation of required resources and focusing on the proper management of COVID-19 patients, and to prevent the transmission of infection among health care workers and patients. In this article we analyzed developments and recommendations of international reports about the current outbreak and its impact on the practice of orthopaedic surgery. Our aim was to provide comprehensive and easy guidelines for the management of urgent and emergent cases in hot zones and for the process of returning to usual orthopaedic work flow in a balanced strategy to assure safe practice and providing quality care without the risk of exhausting institutional resources or the risk of COVID- 19 transmission among health care workers or patients

scholarly journals Perspectives in surgical and anaesthetic management of lung cancer in the era of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)

2020 ◽  
Vol 58 (4) ◽  
pp. 676-681
Author(s):  
Silvia Fiorelli ◽  
Domenico Massullo ◽  
Mohsen Ibrahim ◽  
Federico Piccioni ◽  
Claudio Andreetti ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Lung Cancer ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Workers ◽  
Lung Ventilation ◽  
Risk Of Infection ◽  
One Lung Ventilation ◽  
Optimal Care ◽  
Care Workers ◽  
Management Procedures ◽  
Intraoperative Management

Abstract Early in 2020, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) quickly spread globally, giving rise to a pandemic. In this critical scenario, patients with lung cancer need to continue to receive optimal care and at the same be shielded from infection with the potentially severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. Upgrades to the prevention and control of infection have become paramount in order to lower the risk of hospital contagion. Aerosol-generating procedures such as endotracheal intubation or endoscopic procedures may expose health care workers to a high risk of infection. Moreover, thoracic anaesthesia usually requires highly complex airway management procedures because of the need for one-lung isolation and one-lung ventilation. Therefore, in the current pandemic, providing a fast-track algorithm for scientifically standardized diagnostic criteria and treatment recommendations for patients with lung cancer is urgent. Suggestions for improving existing contagion control guidelines are needed, even in the case of non-symptomatic patients who possibly are responsible for virus spread. A COVID-19-specific intraoperative management strategy designed to reduce risk of infection in both health care workers and patients is also required.

Eating, Drinking, and Comfort at End-of-Life: Promoting a Quality of Death

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 1015-1020
Author(s):  
Annette N. Askren ◽  
Marnie Kershner
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
End Of Life ◽  
Health Care Workers ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Human Condition ◽  
Comprehensive Understanding ◽  
Comfort Care ◽  
Care Workers ◽  
Quality Of Death

Purpose Dysphagia is common in the last days of life (Bogaardt et al., 2015). Patients themselves, their families and caregivers, and health care professionals often struggle to deploy best practices in dysphagia management during this stage. Despite agreement that one's end-of-life should promote comfort, whether or not this is achieved can be unintentionally negatively impacted by the values of loved ones and health care workers, as well as health care workers' practice patterns. Importantly, we have yet to establish a comprehensive understanding of the patient experience at end-of-life to determine what truly entails “comfort” surrounding eating and drinking. Speech-language pathologists are increasingly consulted to address swallowing at end-of-life. It behooves the skilled clinician to have an understanding of the human condition in the final days to hours of life. Method In this piece, we explore the effects of food, drink, and the fasted state in both healthy adults and adults at end-of-life. We pose the thought-provoking question: Do food and drink contribute to a quality of death? Conclusion With this information, we work at the top of our license as providers who bring a unique, comprehensive understanding of such patients to the multidisciplinary comfort care team.

Perspectives of relatives and health care workers on care of terminally ill patients in the UK

2002 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 121-128 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Ferry ◽  
Richard Hancock ◽  
Cindy Newton ◽  
John Taylor ◽  
Kim Horton
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Workers ◽  
Terminally Ill ◽  
Terminally Ill Patients ◽  
Care Workers ◽  
The Uk

Perceptions, Barriers, and Knowledge of Inpatient Glycemic Control

2016 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 348-354 ◽  
Author(s):  
Regine Beliard ◽  
Karina Muzykovsky ◽  
William Vincent ◽  
Bupendra Shah ◽  
Evangelia Davanos
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Patient Care ◽  
Health Care Workers ◽  
Management Approach ◽  
Clinical Practices ◽  
Optimal Care ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Care Workers ◽  
Cross Sectional Design ◽  
Care Worker

Objectives: To assess knowledge and perceptions of health care workers regarding optimal care for patients with hyperglycemia and identify commonly perceived barriers for the development of a hospital-wide education program. Research Design and Methods: A cross-sectional design was utilized to survey health care workers involved in managing hyperglycemia in an urban, community teaching hospital. Each health care worker received a survey specific to their health care role. Results: Approximately 50% of questions about best clinical practices were answered correctly. Correct responses varied across disciplines (n, mean ± standard deviation [SD]), that is, physicians (n = 112, 53% ± 26%), nurses (n = 43, 52% ± 35%), pharmacists (n = 20, 64% ± 23%), dietitians (n = 5, 48% ± 30%), and patient care assistants (n = 12, 38% ± 34%). Most health care workers perceived hyperglycemia treatment to be very important and that sliding scale insulin was commonly used because of convenience but not efficacy. Conclusion: Knowledge regarding hyperglycemia management was suboptimal across a sample of health care workers when compared to clinical best practices. Hyperglycemia management was perceived to be important but convenience seemed to influence the management approach more than efficacy. Knowledge, perceptions, and barriers seem to play an important role in patient care and should be considered when developing education programs prior to implementation of optimized glycemic protocols.

An Unforgettable Client

2011 ◽  
Vol 23 (5) ◽  
pp. 379-380 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robin Retherford
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Workers ◽  
Terminally Ill ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Care Workers

It can be easy to work with patients when they have a positive prognosis, but what happens when a person becomes terminally ill and has not yet come to terms with it? This story addresses both the challenge and value of honesty in conversations between health care workers and their clients when confronted with difficult questions surrounding the issue of death. It is told from a nursing student’s point of view.

Burnout Prevention among Health Care Providers Working with the Terminally Ill: A Literature Review

1992 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard J. Riordan ◽  
Sandra K. Saltzer
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Health Care Workers ◽  
Terminally Ill ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Review Of The Literature ◽  
Wellness Program ◽  
Burnout Prevention ◽  
Care Workers

A review of the literature on burnout and its prevention among caregivers to the dying is presented in this article. The literature shows that health care providers who work with the dying do experience many stressors unique to the specialty, but also many which are common to other health care workers. External and internal stressors common to this specialty field are summarized, and suggestions for reduction or elimination of these stressors are generated from the literature. A self-care wellness program is extracted from the various literature sources and provides what is thought to be an essential foundation to burnout prevention.

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