Experience of the Nursing Students Who Took Charge of End-of-life Cancer Patients in Clinical Practice of Gerontological Nursing

In this study, we clarify the experiences of students through providing nursing care for end-of-life cancer patients and examine the guidance of clinical practice necessary to link the experiences with the result of learning. We conduct interview survey of 15 nursing third graders who take care of terminal older cancer patients in clinical practice in gerontological nursing. The students’ experience was classified into six categories ; “Repentance for doing nothing”, “Involvement actively with patients”, “Awareness of life preciousness”, “Concentration on daily nursing”, “Repentance for insufficient care”, “Respect for patients’ own lives”. The student’s experience focused on the terminal stage situation, and it was an experience to learn the importance of making them live with dignity, reflecting on their own care. It was suggested that widening students’ view of patients’ individual lives was quite useful to consider terminal care based on the characteristics of people.

Survey of the ability of end-of-life cancer patients treated in a palliative care unit to walk to the toilet: perspective of rehabilitation

Purpose: There are many cancer patients who hope to be able to walk to the toilet for as long as they can before death. However, there are no reports of investigation of the ability of advanced cancer patients to go to the toilet, and how the symptoms affect this ability at the end of life in these patients. Methods: We retrospectively investigated the ability of advanced cancer patients to walk to the toilet during their final month of life in our palliative care unit. Data of a total of 154 patients who had died of cancer between January 2010 and December 2011 （median age 75.0±11.6 years） were analyzed in the study. In addition, we compared the frequencies of the symptoms （pain, shortness of breath, drowsiness, delirium, opiate use, oxygen use） between the walking group and the non-walking group. Results: Of the 154 patients, 79 （51.3%） were able to walk to the toilet in the month before their death, 54 （35.1%） in the two weeks before their death, and 33 （21.4%） in the final week before their death. The walking group showed more shortness of breath as compared to the non-walking group. The non-walking group showed more delirium and drowsiness. Conclusion: This study showed that the ADL are relatively preserved in terminal cancer patients. There is the possibility of providing support to their physical ability by rehabilitation. The consciousness level and shortness of breath should take into consideration to provide rehabilitation.