Palliative nursing is a specialty in which you observe your patients at their most vulnerable moments. Whether it's watching a patient struggle to hold on until their last family member arrives to say goodbye, or being with them as they take their last breath. It's not just about death, but rather about making your patient as comfortable and dignified as possible as they enter their final days of life. According to the WHO, “palliative care is an approach that improves the quality of life of individuals and their families facing the problem associated with life-limiting illnesses, through the prevention and relief of suffering through early identification and impeccable assessment and treatment of pain. and other problems, physical, psychosocial and spiritual.” Many health problems arise in patients dealing with a terminal or end-of-life illness such as: pain management, respiratory distress, digestive problems, fatigue, elimination difficulties, depression , etc. Although it is impossible to alleviate all of these health problems, it is crucial that we, as hospice nurses, try to relieve our patients of as many of the negative symptoms that may accompany them as possible. Palliative care is an area of ​​nursing that will always exist, because the circle of life will never end. For this reason, it is particularly important that we pay close attention to palliative nursing care and how we can improve it from a medical and ethical perspective. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Palliative care nursing is not a specialty for all nurses. You must be particularly empathetic, compassionate, patient and the primary advocate for your patients. You must also have the ability to cope with the stress of being among death, grieving family members, and daily loss without it affecting your own mental state. As with most areas of nursing, many ethical questions accompany being a hospice nurse. “Palliative care therefore requires many different skills, not only clinical but also relational, communicative and ethical.” You are included in many sensitive situations where decisions made may not reflect your own personal values, but you must continue to provide the best care possible, regardless of your own judgment. Not only do you have to meet the demands of your patients, but you are often also trying to meet the needs of their loved ones, while simultaneously managing the personal stress associated with it. Caring for patients at the end of life poses many challenges as we strive to make decisions that meet the needs of our clients, while also being morally justified. “Where the wishes of patients, relatives and professionals conflict and where care is limited by lack of resources, it will often be impossible to meet all demands.” Some of the ethical issues that palliative care nurses often must address include: assistance in dying, resolving end-of-life issues and interventions, and respecting the wishes of patients as well as their families. MAID is defined in the Criminal Code of Canada as: » (a) the administration by a physician or nurse practitioner of a substance to a person, at their request, that causeshis death; or (b) the prescription or supply by a medical practitioner or nurse practitioner of a substance to a person, at the person's request, so that he or she may self-administer the substance and, in doing so, cause his or her own death. It is a medical procedure that is increasingly widespread in today's society, particularly in end-of-life care. However, for a nurse who has always believed in the preservation of life, this could be particularly embarrassing, especially when it risks crossing a religious or personal boundary causing moral distress. “The intersection of personal and professional values ​​regarding life, death, suffering, and nursing has come to the fore when patients and families are faced with requests for information or preparation and waiting of an assisted death. Another topic that can raise ethical questions is the conversation about end-of-life issues and interventions. “All clinicians must make difficult decisions about withholding or stopping treatment; however, they are particularly common when caring for a patient entering a very terminal phase, because there are no longer any reversible causes for their deterioration. Symptom control and comfort are paramount, and all interventions should pursue this goal.” These could include: continuation of IV hydration once end of life is deemed imminent, pain control and sedation, feeding tubes, code status, and religious/personal practices . Health care professionals involved in this care must strike a balance by respecting clients' wishes regarding expected care, while being open and honest about the realistic results these interventions may or may not have, regardless of the difficulty in achieving them. . “Instead, a sensitive discussion can establish an individual patient's awareness of their terminal illness and their preferences for attention to dignity and comfort measures in the event of irreversible deterioration.” There will be circumstances in which your patients' wishes do not coincide with your beliefs as an individual or even as a healthcare professional. Some examples include: a patient wanting to be fed solid foods when they are at high risk of aspiration, continuing to receive intravenous fluids when death is rapidly approaching, refusing painkillers for fear of hastening the dying process or request insertion of a feeding tube although it will have no impact on prolonging life and may even cause discomfort. As a nurse, your job is not to agree with your patient, but to educate them and the rest of the healthcare team so that they understand the dying process and its importance for quality of life. When it comes to healthcare, balancing the wishes of your patient and their family can sometimes be difficult. By adding end-of-life care to this conversation, this balance becomes even more difficult to manage. This is especially true when family members' opinions do not align with those of their dying loved one, such as DNR status, requesting confidential information, or blaming the health care provider for decisions made. “Our candidates also said that some problems might be related to the families of dying patients, for example, they might have difficulty deciding whether to continue treatments or attempt to obtain information from unauthorized people.” Although end-of-life care can be extremely stressful for family members, nurses must.