Friday, September 24, 2010

Wow! Observing and learning the tough stuff.

This morning I had a particularly moving experience as I observed/participated in a hospice nurse's visit with a woman my own age who has advanced cancer and isn't expected to live more than a couple of weeks.  Tough stuff to see/experience, but the nurse did a wonderful job of communicating with the patient.  Made me truly appreciate the important role of these caregivers in helping patients deal with their impending death and all the emotions surrounding this.  I'm getting more and more comfortable in my role as an ethnographer.  I think I can even pronounce it correctly now!
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1 comment:

  1. emilycwalkerSeptember 24, 2010 at 5:38 PM

    I don't know if these articles will help, but I found them on Pubmed.gov, while researching something else:

    1. Being a messenger of life-threatening conditions: experiences of pediatric oncologists.
    Stenmarker M, Hallberg U, Palmérus K, Márky I.
    Pediatr Blood Cancer. 2010 Sep;55(3):478-84.
    PMID: 20658619 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

    2. Disclosing the truth to terminal cancer patients: a discussion of ethical and cultural issues.
    Kazdaglis GA, Arnaoutoglou C, Karypidis D, Memekidou G, Spanos G, Papadopoulos O.
    East Mediterr Health J. 2010 Apr;16(4):442-7.
    PMID: 20795432 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
    Related citations

    3. Ethical and legal issues in end-of-life care.
    Thorns A.
    Clin Med. 2010 Jun;10(3):282-5.
    PMID: 20726464 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

    Hope they are helpful!

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