End of Life Care is One of the Projections of Medicine (Term Paper Sample)

End of Life Care is One of the Projections of Medicine
Patients with terminal illnesses require special attention to ease pain and suffering. End of life care is one of the projections of medicine that aim at improving the quality of life for the patients together with their families who face the problems related to life-threatening illnesses. Among the major targets of the end of life care is to ensure that the patient and family are more comfortable while directing the focus towards the period before death. Other factors associated with patients at the terminal stages include high costs of healthcare, which not only become burdensome to the family but also contribute to poor health outcomes. End of life care seeks to minimize related discomfort and be done in various settings, including the patient’s home, hospices, hospital intensive and palliative care units, among others.[ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"2BShAvfZ","properties":{"formattedCitation":"Bina Mistry et al., \\uc0\\u8220{}What Matters Most for End-of-Life Care? Perspectives from Community-Based Palliative Care Providers and Administrators,\\uc0\\u8221{} {\\i{}BMJ Open} 5, no. 6 (June 29, 2015), https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2014-007492.","plainCitation":"Bina Mistry et al., “What Matters Most for End-of-Life Care? Perspectives from Community-Based Palliative Care Providers and Administrators,” BMJ Open 5, no. 6 (June 29, 2015), https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2014-007492.","noteIndex":1},"citationItems":[{"id":2599,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/4013864/items/AXIXP4VR"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/4013864/items/AXIXP4VR"],"itemData":{"id":2599,"type":"article-journal","abstract":"Objectives\nThere has been little research conducted to understand the essential meaning of quality, community-based, end-of-life (EOL) care, despite the expansion of these services. The purpose of this study was to define what matters most for EOL care from the perspective of a diverse range of palliative care providers in the community who have daily encounters with death and dying.\n\nMethods\nWe used interviews to explore the perceptions of providers and administrators from 14 specialised palliative care teams in Ontario, Canada. Participants were prompted with the question ‘What matters most for EOL care?’ Responses were analysed using a phenomenological approach to derive themes depicting the universal essence of EOL care.\n\nResults\nData from 107 respondents were obtained and analysed, from which 40 formulated concepts emerged; these were further grouped into 9 themes. Of the respondents, 39% were nurses, 19% physicians, 27% were supervisors or executives and 15% other. The most predominate concept was that Patient's Wishes are Fulfilled, cited by almost half the respondents. The most prominent themes were Addressing the Non-physical Needs, Healthcare Teams’ Nature of Palliative Care Delivery, Patient Wishes are Honoured, Addressing the Physical Needs, Preparing for and Accepting Death, Communication and Relationship Development, and Involving and Supporting the Family.\n\nConclusions\n9 critical domains of EOL care evolved from the interviews, indicating that quality EOL care extends beyond managing physical pain, but includes a holistic perspective of care, a healthcare team dedicated to the EOL journey and a patient-centred pathway. Tailoring the provision of care to consider these important elements plays a critical role in supporting a positive EOL experience for patients and families.","container-title":"BMJ Open","DOI":"10.1136/bmjopen-2014-007492","ISSN":"2044-6055","issue":"6","journalAbbreviation":"BMJ Open","note":"PMID: 26124510\nPMCID: PMC4486948","source":"PubMed Central","title":"What matters most for end-of-life care? Perspectives from community-based palliative care providers and administrators","title-short":"What matters most for end-of-life care?","URL":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4486948/","volume":"5","author":[{"family":"Mistry","given":"Bina"},{"family":"Bainbridge","given":"Daryl"},{"family":"Bryant","given":"Deanna"},{"family":"Tan Toyofuku","given":"Sue"},{"family":"Seow","given":"Hsien"}],"accessed":{"date-parts":[["2019",12,13]]},"issued":{"date-parts":[["2015",6,29]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} Bina Mistry et al., “What Matters Most for End-of-Life Care? Perspectives from Community-Based Palliative Care Providers and Administrators,” BMJ Open 5, no. 6 (June 29, 2015), https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2014-007492.] [ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"LLjz97tq","properties":{"formattedCitation":"Mistry et al.","plainCitation":"Mistry et al.","noteIndex":2},"citationItems":[{"id":2599,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/4013864/items/AXIXP4VR"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/4013864/items/AXIXP4VR"],"itemData":{"id":2599,"type":"article-journal","abstract":"Objectives\nThere has been little research conducted to understand the essential meaning of quality, community-based, end-of-life (EOL) care, despite the expansion of these services. The purpose of this study was to define what matters most for EOL care from the perspective of a diverse range of palliative care providers in the community who have daily encounters with death and dying.\n\nMethods\nWe used interviews to explore the perceptions of providers and administrators from 14 specialised palliative care teams in Ontario, Canada. Participants were prompted with the question ‘What matters most for EOL care?’ Responses were analysed using a phenomenological approach to derive themes depicting the universal essence of EOL care.\n\nResults\nData from 107 respondents were obtained and analysed, from which 40 formulated concepts emerged; these were further grouped into 9 themes. Of the respondents, 39% were nurses, 19% physicians, 27% were supervisors or executives and 15% other. The most predominate concept was that Patient's Wishes are Fulfilled, cited by almost half the respondents. The most prominent themes were Addressing the Non-physical Needs, Healthcare Teams’ Nature of Palliative Care Delivery, Patient Wishes are Honoured, Addressing the Physical Needs, Preparing for and Accepting Death, Communication and Relationship Development, and Involving and Supporting the Family.\n\nConclusions\n9 critical domains of EOL care evolved from the interviews, indicating that quality EOL care extends beyond managing physical pain, but includes a holistic perspective of care, a healthcare team dedicated to the EOL journey and a patient-centred pathway. Tailoring the provision of care to consider these important elements plays a critical role in supporting a positive EOL experience for patients and families.","container-title":"BMJ Open","DOI":"10.1136/bmjopen-2014-007492","ISSN":"2044-6055","issue":"6","journalAbbreviation":"BMJ Open","note":"PMID: 26124510\nPMCID: PMC4486948","source":"PubMed Central","title":"What matters most for end-of-life care? Perspectives from community-based palliative care providers and administrators","title-short":"What matters most for end-of-life care?","URL":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4486948/","volume":"5","author":[{"family":"Mistry","given":"Bina"},{"family":"Bainbridge","given":"Daryl"},{"family":"Bryant","given":"Deanna"},{"family":"Tan Toyofuku","given":"Sue"},{"family":"Seow","given":"Hsien"}],"accessed":{"date-parts":[["2019",12,13]]},"issued":{"date-parts":[["2015",6,29]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} Mistry et al.]
While on placement at the end of my second year, I attended to patients in an inpatient unit at a hospice. One of the patients I attended was in a terminal state and she had been enrolled in the end of life care plan. The patient’s name was Claude (not her real name for confidentiality purposes). Claude was diagnosed with HR-positive and HER-negative metastatic cancer and she had been placed under the end of life care as a result of her terminal state. This essay will focus on the reflection of the case and the role played by psychological support for the management of advanced breast cancer in end of life care. The application of the Driscoll Reflective Model will be essential in the reflection.
Metastatic and advanced breast cancer has numerous physical presentations that have a significant potential to lower the quality of life. Additionally, the manifestations of the advanced breast have a great impact on the psychosocial well-being of both the patients and their families. Thus, these groups have special needs that require an interdisciplinary approach to aid in relieving pain and distress offered through effective palliative and end of life care. One of the approaches of improving the quality of life among patients and families in end of life care is through the provision of psychological support. Despite the efforts to administer pharmacological interventions for the management of breast cancer symptoms, the support to ensure the psychological and emotional well-being of the affected persons is also essential. I noted that this element of care was well catered for in the case of Claude and, hence, I came up with the need for highlighting it and seeking its in-depth address.[ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"VUu3ldAN","properties":{"formattedCitation":"Nathan I. Cherny, Shani Paluch-Shimon, and Yael Berner-Wygoda, \\uc0\\u8220{}Palliative Care: Needs of Advanced Breast Cancer Patients,\\uc0\\u8221{} {\\i{}Breast Cancer\\uc0\\u8239{}: Targets and Therapy} 10 (2018): 231, https://doi.org/10.2147/BCTT.S160462.","plainCitation":"Nathan I. Cherny, Shani Paluch-Shimon, and Yael Berner-Wygoda, “Palliative Care: Needs of Advanced Breast Cancer Patients,” Breast Cancer : Targets and Therapy 10 (2018): 231, htt...