As a future health professional, I believe that it is very important to know what a terminal illness is and try to achieve a better knowledge about the process, since the therapeutic approach will be different, depending on the situation.
A terminal illness is a progressive and incurable disease that does not respond to the specific treatment. It has a prognosis of less than 6 months of life and represents a huge emotional impact in the patient and his family.
I believe that the role of the nurse is especially important when dealing with this type of diseases, as a healthcare professional.
We should know how to communicate with the patient and his family, especially in these cases. It will not be easy. The family will find difficult to assimilate the situation. On the other hand, they will want it to finish soon. Health professionals must support them to accept the situation without feeling guilty. It is important that both, the family and the patient, feel supported by us. We must avoid a very typical error in these cases: spend the shortest possible time in the patient room.
Bibliography
- Ministerio de Sanidad y Consumo. Guía de práctica clínica sobre cuidados paliativos. 1ª Edición. Vitoria-Gasteiz: Servicio Central de Publicaciones del Gobierno Vaco; 2008.
- Nancy Guinart. Cómo atender a la familia del enfermo terminal. Revista cubana de medicina general integral. Marzo 2006. 22 (1). Disponible en: http://scielo.sld.cu/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0864-21252006000100010
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