08/22/2013
I fell in love… I am not sure when it happened. But I fell in love with Personal Support Workers. I fell in love with the workers and with the work that they do. Perhaps it was the stories. “After bathing her, I got her into the clean bed, then I sat, held her hand
Read More08/20/2013
I came to hospice nursing as a child. A few of my earliest recollections of death include a dead rat and a lovely transparent leaf. I tried to nurse both back to life with no success. When my siblings and I found a dead bird we decided we were not doing well in the healing
Read More08/17/2013
In the “Essentials in Hospice Palliative Care” resources we outline many learning activities that require students to participate and share their experiences, beliefs, challenges, and fears about topics related to death, dying, loss and grief. In the program evaluation interviews we invited instructors to share their experiences with the ‘Essentials in Hospice Palliative Care’ resources.
Read More08/15/2013
If Palliative Care increases length of life as well as improving quality of life, why do patients have to ask for palliative care? Why don’t physicians and nurses tell patients about palliative care? Why do they struggle to get registered with a palliative care or hospice program? Andrea Warnick, a dear colleague from Toronto writes:
Read More08/10/2013
This spring I attended the Ontario Association of Career Colleges conference in Windsor. I arranged ahead of time to meet a few of the local PSW instructors for a ‘cuppa something’. During both evening visits a few recurring themes emerged… I sensed their passion for teaching, their esteem for the students, and the role of
Read More08/07/2013
Pat Porterfield, one of Canada’s great hospice palliative care nurses once said that “if 75% of palliative care is about communication, then 75% of the communication is about decreasing intake”. It was interesting to me to watch my mother’s intake change as she was dying. She had a love for cheese and whipping cream. She
Read More08/07/2013
In a recent article “The Critical Role of Caregivers in Achieving Patient-Centered Care” author Gillick writes: For caregivers (family caregivers) to make patient-centered care a reality for frail elders and those with advanced illness, they will need unprecedented education and assistance. In addition to supporting policies designed to reimburse caregivers for some of their services…
Read More08/07/2013
The Liverpool Care Pathway (LCP) was developed in Britain in the late 1990s to help ensure the dying receive excellent care no matter where they were dying. The LCP became the “gold standard” of care for those identified as dying. When a person was identified as dying, the routine orders associated with the LCP
Read More07/23/2013
Pain Management and Palliative Care for Mesothelioma Patients (Guest post by Faith Franz, researcher and writer for The Mesothelioma Center) After attempting to control the growth of a tumor, pain management is one of the most important goals of many cancer treatments. This is especially true for patients with mesothelioma, which is a rare and
Read More07/23/2013
Palliative care not only not only improves quality of life, but it also extends life. Liz Szabo in US Today provides a nice summary of the research: A study of 151 patients published last summer in The New England Journal of Medicine showed that getting early palliative care — in addition to regular medical treatment — helped people
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