Ronan Castronuevo

ISM- Period 7

Papadimos, Thomas J et al. An Overview of Endoflife Issues in the Intensive Care

Unit. International Journal of Critical Illness and Injury Science1.2 (2011): 138146. PMC. Web.

27 Oct. 2017.

Once a dying patient has been identified there are many steps taken, besides creating
plans for dealing with symptoms and treatment, and the treatment should be unique to the
patient.
A healthcare worker must be be effective in the interaction with families, understand the
influence of religion and spirituality, acknowledge diversity, be facile with palliation and
transition to comfort care, [and] communicate well with the primary care team
(Papadimos, Introduction).
Some common symptoms of dying include: SOB, unmanageable secretions, agitation,
depression, and dementia.
The team caring for the patient ability to be open to a patients beliefs, culture, religion,
and spiritual value can improve the patients end of life care.
Coping through religion helps patients to comprehend the reality of their situation and
learn to accept it, by practicing their religion, either by meditating or praying.
A patients spiritual value are their reflections and understanding of the purpose of life,
that is not necessarily influenced by a religions beliefs; making it important to
differentiate between the two.
Cultural awareness is imperative as it can help better understand the end of life traditions
or processes in different cultures, as our world is very diverse and many different kinds of
people are in the hospital.
Communication is imperative, as sometimes there are arguments between the care team
and the patients family concerning the withdrawal or continuation of care, instead of
moving on to palliative care.
Resuscitation is an important topic to discuss with the patient and their family.
The main idea is to help families understand the patients situation and the care plan
recommended by the physician and the healthcare team.
Comprehension and realization of patients dying condition can be difficult for the family
to handle, so healthcare workers have to be patient and empathize with them.

The article is, overall, a very good source to use as it glosses over many different topics
concerning the actual care of the patient, in regards to making them comfortable, dealing with
the symptoms, comforting their family, and recognizing the indicators for that patients time of
passing.