ABSTRACT
The concept of "hospice care" was first institutionalized in Taiwan 19 years ago. Today, 30 hospitals in the country provide hospice care, with healthcare teams actively providing humane and compassionate care to those in the last phases of incurable disease so that they may live out their remaining time as fully and as comfortably as possible. Typical therapeutic approaches to hospice care include meaning/existential, nostalgia, environmental and spiritual. Aside from managing symptoms, healthcare teams should address proactively the spiritual needs of a patient's spouse and family in order to create meaning and value by helping them look beyond grief and death to appreciate the warmth of life. This study used a number of clinical cases as examples to illustrate how nurses in an interdisciplinary team setting collaborate to perform their responsibilities and integrate with one another. Ultimately, the healthcare team works to improve the living quality of patients and their families so that all can 'rest in peace'
Subject(s)
Hospice Care , Nurse's Role , Humans , Palliative CareABSTRACT
The aim of this study was to analyze nurses' experiences of role strain when taking care of patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). We adopted an interpretive/ constructivist paradigm. Twenty-one nurses who had taken care of SARS patients were interviewed in focus groups. The data were analyzed using thematic analysis. The self-state of nurses during the SARS outbreak evolved into that of professional self as: (1) self-preservation; (2) self-mirroring; and (3) self-transcendence. The relationship between self-state and reflective practice is discussed.
Subject(s)
Adaptation, Psychological , Attitude of Health Personnel , Nurse's Role/psychology , Nursing Staff, Hospital/psychology , Self Concept , Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome/nursing , Adult , Altruism , Burnout, Professional/etiology , Burnout, Professional/psychology , Conflict, Psychological , Empathy , Fear , Female , Focus Groups , Humans , Infectious Disease Transmission, Patient-to-Professional , Models, Psychological , Nursing Methodology Research , Nursing Staff, Hospital/ethics , Professional Competence , Qualitative Research , Self Care/ethics , Self Care/psychology , Social Perception , Taiwan , ThinkingABSTRACT
This paper explored experiences caring for patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), with a focus on the suffering between the "private" and "professional" selves, in order to describe the psychological impact and ethical practice of SARS events as related to nursing professionals. Eight small group interviews were conducted with a total of twenty-one nurses with experience caring for SARS patients. Group interviews were audio-taped and transcribed for analysis. Data, analyzed using the constant comparative method, revealed the following three ethical dilemmas: suffering in care giving, response to the calling, and distresses involved in decision making. In this study, the authors further addressed relationships between suffering and ethical practice, the calling and a nurse's professional responsibilities, and transcendence in intersubjectivity. The authors hope that the results of this study will lead to a new understanding of ethical practices nursing and help nurses develop reflected care that promotes personal and professional growth.