Week 1 Flashcards
what is palliative care
- a philosophy and approach to care that focuses on helping people live well
what is a chronic illness
- illness that lasts a year or longer
- requires ongoing med care
what is a life-limiting illness
- chronic disease or condition that doesn’t respond to curative treatments, leading to a terminal diagnosis
what is a life threatening illness
any chronic illness,
medical condition or allergy, such as diabetes, severe allergies, epilepsy, and asthma, that in
certain conditions, when left untreated or improperly treated, could lead to death
what is a terminal illness
- a disease that cannot be cured or adequately treated and is reasonably expected to result in the death of the patient
what is a end-stage disease
The last phase in the course of a progressive disease
what is an advanced illness
- when one or more conditions become serious enough that general health and functioning decline, and treatments begin to lose their impact
- a process that continues to the end of life.
on medical and surgical wards, pts have expressed umet nursing care needs r/t (6)
- communication
- self-management, autonomy, education
- fundamental physical care
- emotional and psychological care
- personal sphere
- privacy and dignity
what are the 4 interrelated aspects of an individual
- physical
- emotional
- social
- spiritual
what is the physcial aspect of an individual? what are examples?
- includes physical health & fnxn
ex. ability to do ADLs, nutrition, hygeine
describe the emotional aspect of an individual. what does it include?
- our ability to understand, express, and manage emotions
- includes coping mechanisms, how we respond to other’s emotions
describe the social aspect of an individual (4)
- relating, interacting and communicating well with others
- our bonds and connections with other people
- what roles we have ex. sister
- includes where born, how live, work, play, learn
describe the spiritual aspect of an individual (4)
- connecting with what’s meaningful to you in a way that lightens or enriches your spirit
- does not necessarily mean religion!
- includes things that give us purpose, meaning, and hope
- sense of “who am i” and “where am i going”
why is it important to address the whole person during care?
- to maintain our pts dignity
- and dignity is associated w quality of life
what is dignity (3)
- feeling valued and important
- sense of self worth
- state of physical, emotional, social, and spiritual comfort
what are some characteristics of dignity (2)
- inherent to all of us
- highly individualized
what 3 things can impact our dignity
- illness-related concerns
- nature & quality of interaction w others
- personal perspectives and practices to preserve dignity
in what way can nature and quality of interactions with others impact dignity (3)
- our social support
- privacy boundaries
- care tenor (the attitude and behaviors of HCP)
in what ways can illness-related concerns impact dignity (2)
- symptoms can lead to physical and psychological distress & uncertainty
- can impact our lvl of independence and ADLs
how can personal perspectives impact our dignity and what practices can conserve dignity (5)
- able to live in the moment
- sense of normalcy
- spiritual comfort
- ability to maintain hope
- ability to preserve roles
what are 3 ways to get to know the whole person
- formal assessment tools ex. OPQRSTU
- observation
- conversation
how can observation help get to know the whole
- observe the pt, interactions, and enviro
ex. consider pics in room, what they watch on tv etc.
how can conversations help get to know the whole person (5)
- includes convo w the pt, family, and healthcare team
- ask open ended questions ex. what does a good day look like to you
- talk about things other than illnesses
- biographical approaches
- storytelling and story sharing
what are examples of unhelpful assessment techniques (7)
- focusing on only one domain ex. physical
- using inappropriate or technical language (ex. medical terms, labelling them as the cancer pt)
- changing the subject
- interupting
- assumptions abt the pt
- jumping to conclusions
- asking leading questions that suggest right answers
how can we assess the physical domain (4)
- understand their diagnosis and treatment
- H2T assessment
- symptom assessment
- OPQRSTU
how can we assess the emotional domain (8)
observe/assess for
- anxiety/fear
- sadness
- anger/irritability
- positive motivation (do they have hope?)
- burden (feelings of guilt to HCP, family)
- disengagement/withdrawl
- coping strategies
- facial expressions
how can we assess the social domain (7)
observe/assess/consider
- relationships
- ability to engage in leisure activities
- ability to perform household chores (need help or independent?)
- ability to perform ADLs
- living accommodations (alone? w someone? any concerns?)
- ability to work (retired? working? where?)
- caregiviing role (are they supporting others?)
how can we assess the spiritual domain (5)
assess/observe
- sources of help or support(what gives them strength)
- beliefs
- spirituality
- source of hope
- meaning in life (what keeps them going, whats most meaningful to you)
what is a simple question to ask that provides the pt with dignity
- what do i do need to know about you as a person to provide you with the best care that I can
what is the benefit to promoting expressions of personhood? what happens when we ignore it?
- ignore = compromised dignity
- promote = dignity upheld
describe the illness trajectory of cancer
- function is typically high for a period of time, but then has a sharp decline
describe the illness trajectory of organ failure
- function is good, then experience an exacerbation
- once recover from an exacerbation, their functioning doesn’t get quit to where it was before
this continues , with function declinign with each exacerbation
describe the illness trajectory of physical and cognitive fraility
- low lvls of function carries on til death
what factors influence illness experience (13)
- disease focused v whole person approach to care
- available health services
- education and literacy
- physical enviro
- social supports
- personal health practices
- coping skills
- social enviro
- culture
- employment/working conditions
- financial status
- social status
- age
what is a progressive illness
- a disease or health condition that gets worse over time, resulting in a general decline in health or function
what are some examples of organ failure (3)
- COPD
- CHF
- CKD
