PLEASE RESPOND TO WEEK 5 PROMPTS 1 AND 2  AT LEAST 2 REFERENCES CITED AT THE END OF EACH PROMT,1 PAGE PER PROMPT REFERENCES SHOULD BE NO OLDER THAN 5 YEARS

Please respond to the discussion prompt. Week 5 Chapters 10–13. USING RISE MODEL

Use at least one scholarly source other than your textbook to connect your response to national guidelines and evidence-based research in support of your ideas. This is required. In addition, you may also provide an example case, either from personal experience or from the media, which illustrates and supports your ideas.  All sources must be referenced and cited using correct APA (including a link to the source).

PROMPT 1  JASMIN

The relationship between the provider and the family of an end-of-life patient focuses primarily on providing the best quality of life for the palliative patient, offering support services for the family, and education for them. Each family views dying differently across the lifespan, based on culture, religion, and personal experiences, which also makes interprofessional collaboration with others important to target the patient’s and family’s physical, mental, and spiritual well-being. Discussing end-of-life care regarding the pediatric population can be difficult, especially for children born with limited cognitive, language, motor function, mental, and/or physical capacity. Ill children may make decisions based on what they believe is best for their family rather than what they particularly want (Kaaniken et al., 2015). Books and visual aids can be used by parents to introduce children to terminology that they may lack to enhance standardized means of communicating their wishes and encourage questions. Literature has demonstrated reduced rates of anxiety and depression in pediatric patients with terminal illnesses who are able to utilize open communication to express preferences and avoid misinterpretation of end-of-life care (Santoro & Bennett, 2018). Determining a child’s level of understanding is crucial for information exchange about the dying process and providers can assist parents in finding appropriate literature or visual aids to teach the child.

The TED talk video (2013) provided a good breakdown plan for end-of-life care because it is true that many people wish to die at home but the reality is much different. The grieving process in preparation for death can overshadow the patient’s care, so a plan should be implemented between the healthcare team, family, and patient to be set in place for emergencies and hospitalization. Having a plan, advocates in place to assert the patient’s wishes, and being hospital ready for any emergency can streamline and reduce stress among the family. From my own personal experience outside of work, families that agree to a plan upon diagnosis cope better than those who waited to put everything together last minute. Another key element in end-of-life care is education and support of patient and family by being honest and transparent. Providing false hope and enabling negative coping mechanisms, such as denial, will harm the family and they must be taught how to cope positively to learn new behaviors to face future deaths in the family. Kaaniken et al., (2015) also detail interventions that can be planned with the family for positive outcomes such as a symptom management plan (ex. administering medications), advance care planning, ordering equipment like a hospital bed and commode for home care, creating a chore list for family members, and providing contact information for resources and benefit programs.

PROMPT 2 KANDI

The catastrophic sickness and death is undoubtedly the most terrible event a family can go through. Nurses may find it challenging to communicate with the family of a family member. As professional advanced practice nurses, we must first demonstrate empathy for a family’s reaction when faced with the tragic occurrence of their family member’s death. To increase the likelihood of a favorable outcome, the nurse practitioner must be well-versed in the differences between the patient’s disease, treatments, palliative care, and end-of-life care (Ng et al., 2016). Parents must express their belief that palliative care can help their kids cope with the symptoms, discomfort, and stress of their critical illness. As a result, parents need to learn about their child’s disease and how it works to comprehend how palliative care can help avoid symptoms, relieve physical pain, and improve the child’s quality of life. Palliative care may also be beneficial to parents and siblings struggling with the grief of knowing that their child may pass away one day.

Palliative care should provide emotional and social support, respect the values of the family, and discuss how best to support and achieve their goals. Parents and families should understand that adopting palliative care does not imply giving up on their kids or future treatments (Grandson, 2021).  .To a child’s parents and family, an explanation of hospice care is crucial. Parents will struggle to accept their child’s terminal prognosis, causing them to enter a state of denial. As a result, the NP must explain everything in great detail and repeat the information as many times as necessary for the parents to accept that their child will leave this world and that the best comfort care for the child.  According to the physician, the provider must make the parents understand that disease-modifying or curative treatments are no longer helpful or valuable and that the focus should now be on supporting quality of life and symptom management.

When individuals are prepared and choose the correct individual to help them achieve their end-of-life goals, their quality of life can be maintained. Accepting a terminal diagnosis, I believe, can help us make better decisions about how we want to spend the last months or days of our lives, as well as who will be in charge of our money, health, and burial arrangements. Judy McDonald Johnston suggests five steps to creating a plan, including making decisions, recruiting advocates,  having all the requirements ready to go to the hospital, choosing the best caregiver, and discuss your final words and what you would like to hear when prepared to let go. These five steps, in my opinion, are excellent to follow and teach our terminally ill patients to be prepared and go in good spirits. I believe that people should make their own decisions rather than being swayed by family or friends because it is ultimately their life and how they choose to leave this planet.