Week 10 blog

Week 10

Active Euthanasia

This week I was most interested in the topic of active euthanasia. I think of this topic quite often, and mostly because I take care of many terminally ill patients. I hear the patients talk about assisted suicide on occasion and yet I wonder if they really know what they are asking for, or is this just something that they say because they feel like there is no other way out or they are unable to manage the pain, or worse yet, because they feel like they are too much of a burden on their families. I enjoyed the reading in the text book about active euthanasia, what I appreciated is the statistics showing how well the guidelines behind the "Death with Dignity" Act that passed in 1994 in Oregon state is working. Reports shows that people that do chose this option have passed through very strict requirements.
If I could discuss this topic with the most famous person to bring this option to popularity, I would like to interview him on his personal thoughts behind his willingness to assist people to their death. The current laws mandate that the patients must administer their own lethal dosage of medication, I can see how this takes some of the guilt away for the doctors. I agree with putting the decision and responsibility into the patients own hands.
The information that was new to me in this reading was the fact that Asian Americans have the highest suicide rates, and all because they feel as though they are too big of a burden for their family members, this is so sad to think people would go to those measures just so they don't disrupt their families.
I personally am thankful that we have this option available for those who truly want to end their suffering due to a terminal illness. I am glad there are safety rules put in place. I have seen cases that truly make me support assisted suicide, watching such horrific pain with no end to it has made me a supporter of this. I think death is an individual thing, we were born alone and we will die alone, if someone of a sane mind plans to end their life due to the agonizing pain they will endure, with no possibility for a cure I support their personal decision. What I most want to remember is to have respect for those people that have chosen this way to end their suffering and not to be judgmental, and if patients ask me my opinion, I will try and make sure they have access to all the information they need to make the most informative decision for themselves, this is a personal choice not something healthcare workers should share opinions on with their patients.

   

Week 9 Blog

Week 9 

Patronizing Speech 

This week I really enjoyed reading about how the elderly view nursing homes and how they perceive the experience of being in a nursing home. I am a certified nurses assistant here at a local nursing home. I have been an assistant for over 6 yrs now and I know the homes in town vary quite a bit with the quality of care. I won't name any names of the different places, but I will say I have worked at several now and the one I work at now is by far an above average facility. In this weeks reading what piqued my curiosity the most was "Patronizing speech" when caring for an older person. I really haven't given this topic much thought before. I think as care givers, far too often we tend to get in a daily routine of how we deal with patients and forget how much each patient is different. If I had unlimited funds I would like to see more  research done on patronizing speech and more studies on the outcomes of specialty training. I can see how more training on this subject for caregivers could improve the quality of life for our long term patients. I consider myself to be an above average care giver, but now that I have read more about this topic I can see ways I could improve in the way I help my patients on an individual basis. If I could read more about this subject I would like to learn more about what I can say or do when interacting with my patients by using different techniques in the way I talk to them. This topic made me stop and realize that far too often we treat the patients the same or say the same phrases over and over like "How are you feeling today", if each care giver said the same thing to each patient each day it could lead the patient to think no one really cares about them as an individual.  I could see how an elder person would lose their integrity. I would love to see more money spent on training with regards to the way we interact with patients in regards to speech patterns. Caregivers should receive more training on speech patterns, and get to know the individuals past hobbies, past careers. We need more research to show the caregivers that this approach in regards to the way we talk to patients can make a huge difference in the quality of life to our patients. I liked reading about how the nursing homes that allow more self decisions of the patients had a better quality of life as well. I will be more aware of my tone and the questions I ask now of my patients, I will try and apply more individual related questions and be more aware of using same phases over and over. I can see how personalizing the way you speak to your patients can make a huge difference in their quality of life just by rephrasing what you say to them on a daily basis.