How+are+Nurses+affected+by+Death?

=__ How are Nurses Affected by Death? __=

Introduction
====It is often quoted that nurses make up the foundation of the medical health field. They are the ones who most often care for their patients anytime of the day. When it comes to the deaths of their patients, it's a whole different story. It's a story that nobody wants to talk about. In reality, no one will accurately know how much a nurse has to personally handle when it comes to patient death. Often times, the emotions and feelings of nurses will easily be dismissed and not assessed due to the situation of the patient's death for the loved ones. Nurses often have to hide how he or she feels because the main priority of a death situation is to comfort and support those who were by the person when he or she died, as well as make sure that every measure was taken to prevent the death in order to minimize chaos and confusion. In very stressful and sad situations like this, nurses must often have to ignore or what and how they feel, and in the long run, leads to an unhealthy way of managing the mental health, which slowly wreaks havoc into physical health, professional life, and personal life. Another situation where nurses must hold back on his or her feeling for a patient death is when a terminally-ill patient requests physician- assisted suicide. Physician-assisted suicide, much like abortion, is a controversial medical procedure that has many advocates and opponents debating. The nurses who have stayed by the side of the terminally-ill may feel a feeling of sadness, anger, relief, or overall avoidance of these feelings in general.====

**Addressing Loved Ones**
One of the main focuses of addressing a patient's death to his or her loved ones is for a nurse to comfort them and help them through the stages of denial and grief. The mental trauma is especially significant when the death of a very young individual is addressed, so when nurses are explaining what occurred to the families, they are often asked what the young individual has said or gone through if the family members themselves were not present. In general, this can occur in any patient's age. In the way of society, it is very important, and yet expected, for nurses to physically and mentally support those who have lost a loved one.

**Addressing Feelings of Other Nurses**
As well as addressing the issues that underlay that are associated with addressing the loved ones, nurses must also be able to handle the feelings of his or her colleagues. By simply handling other nurses' feelings, the myriad of problems that a hospital has on a daily basis can be resolved quickly and efficiently. In some cases, nurses may become very sensitive to controversial issues that occur in the workplace, such as physician-assisted suicide. This procedure occurs under the patient's consent, especially if he or she is terminally ill with cancer and etc. It is vital for a distressed nurse to discuss and explain their sensitivity to such a topic in order to preserve professional and work ethic quality.

**Learning How to Cope**
It is crucial for nurses to learn how to properly learn to cope with their feelings toward death on a day to day basis. By knowing how to handle feeling toward death, nurses are benefited on a physical and metal self-aspect and on the professional and personal level. According to Allen Kellenhear, author of //On Death and Dying: What the Dying Have to Teach Doctors, Nurses, Clergy, and Their Own Families, //he explains that death and dealing with it is a natural part of life and is vital to understand how to manage their emotions. In his book, each chapter mentions the stages of grief and acceptance. Kellenhear stresses that it is important for nurses and medical professionals alike to accept death as a part of life. It is highly sought out to observe and understand a patient death and find the best ways to cope with emotions.

media type="youtube" key="L2083Qs23E0" width="560" height="315"

Full Paper Here:

=
Kellhear, Allen. On Death and Dying: What the Dying Have to Teach Doctors, Nurses, Clergy, and Their Own Families. London & New York: Routledge (Taylor &Francis Group), n.d. 2008. Web. 13 July 2016. =====

=
2. Kellogg, Marni B., Marianne Barker, and Nancy McCune. "The Lived Experience of Pediatric Burn Nurses Following Patient Death." Pediatric Nursing 40.6 (2014): 5.Georgia State Library. Web. 30 June 2016. =====

**Pictures Cited: **
1. Steiner, Susie. "Top Five Regrets of the Dying." //Theguardian//. N.p., 1 Feb. 2012. Web. 2. "Understanding Death and Dying." //Dying Matters //. Dying Matters, 10 June 2013. Web. 25 July 2016.