Health Care and Death - Essay Example

The Impact of Death Running Head: THE IMPACT OF DEATH The Impact of Death on Me as a Nurse and as a Person In APA Style (School/ University/ Affiliation)The Impact of Death 2In treating patients, there are two ultimate endpoints for all: the road to recovery which leads to life and the road to cessation of all vital bodily functions which leads to death. Death is a word common to all human beings, amidst differences in race, age, sex, religion or occupation, we all will die at some point in time.

It is something that many people fear and many of whom go to great extents just to delay their ultimate appointment with death. As a nurse, I am in constant exposure in the process of dying and death. With this said, I believe that the impact of death is affected by a person's perspective of it. For some people, death is the ultimate end. They don't see anything beyond death whereas for some, death is just a beginning for a life after death. I believe in life after death and this somehow helps me see death in a different light.

For me, I see death as a necessary painful process in order for something beautiful to arise. In nursing school, we are taught and prepared on how to deal with patients and how to deal with the death of some of these patients. We are told to build rapport and empathize with them, but still keeping in mind the boundaries of a patient-nurse relationship. However, as Patch Adams said, transference and counter-transference are inevitable. As I spend more time with my patients, I get to know more about their personal lives and from just mere strangers, these patients become my friends.

Even harder to deal with are patients will terminal diseases like cancer as these are the patients that I spend time with them for months even up to years. These patients have to accept the fact that they have little time left. The grieving process for the patient and his loved ones start from the time of diagnosis. The hard part is that they have to deal with death while the person is still living. The Impact of Death 3Honestly, I am affected whenever I see my dying patients suffer not just physically, but emotionally as well.

I grieve with them, comfort them and even cry with and for them. I allow myself to feel these emotions as I know these are normal reactions in losing someone who is valuable to you. Sometimes, it can take a toll on me and I find myself questioning and wondering what more could I have done for my patients. I trust that my colleagues and I did the best that we can do for the patient.I plan to integrate my knowledge in dying, near-death experiences and death itself into my professional life as a nurse by being more sensitive to the needs of my patients.

If there are warning signs of a patient's deteriorating health, I will immediately report it to my supervisor. Also, I plan to better equip myself in handling better these situations by being good in handling emergency situations. I will still continue to build friendships with my dying patients, but I'll limit the extent of my friendship, as per the guidelines for patient-nurse relationship. I will try everything that I can possibly do for the patient. I will also join forums of fellow healthcare friends to help me.

As for my personal life, integrating death is best exemplified by how I deal with the business of my everyday life. It helps me not to take for granted the blessings that I have. Death also inspires me to see and appreciate life in a more positive way, helping me to live it to the fullestThe Impact of Death 4ReferencesNational Public Radio. (1997). The End of Life : Exploring Death. Retrieved March 26, 2009, from http://www.npr.org/programs/death/trns.html