HLT 324v Week 4 Death and Dying Practices Discussion

HLT 324v Week 4 Death and Dying Practices Discussion

HLT324V

HLT 324V Week 4 Discussion 1

Describe the spectrum of death and dying rituals and practices. Why are death and dying rituals so significant?

HLT 324V Week 4 Discussion 2

What death and dying practices are contrary to your personal beliefs or chosen religious values? How will you support a patient’s death and dying rituals and practices, and still honor your own?

Case Study: Through the Eyes of the Patient and the Health Care Professional

Topic: Spiritual and Cultural Emphases on Death and Dying

Allied health professionals are confronted with different death and dying practices. An effective allied health professional recognizes the importance of understanding different cultural practices, and learns how to evaluate the death, dying, and spiritual beliefs and practices across the cultures.

Read the two specified case histories and choose one for this assignment.

Chapter 4, “Stories of Abby: An Ojibwa Journey” and Chapter 14, “Stories of Shanti: Culture and Karma,” by Gelfland, Raspa, and Sherylyn, from End-of-Life Stories: Crossing Disciplinary Boundaries (2005), available in the GCU Library:

http://library.gcu.edu:2048/login?url=http://site.ebrary.com/lib/grandcanyon/Doc?id=10265487

Identify your role as a health care professional in supporting Abby or Shanti’s dying rituals, and in creating strategies for displaying respect while still providing quality care. Integrate your strategies as you develop a care plan describing how you would approach the situation and care for the patient. Review the “Care Plan” template prior to beginning.

Include the following in your care plan:

Communication: family and patient

Treatment options that align with the specific culture

Education: family and patient

Family roles in the process

Spiritual beliefs

Barriers

Cultural responses

Any additional components that you feel would need to be addressed (from your perspective as a health care professional)

Prepare this assignment according to the APA guidelines found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center. An abstract is not required.

 

 

 

MORE INFO 

Death and Dying Practices

Introduction

If you are in the middle of a loved one’s death, it can be difficult to know what to say or do. The last thing anyone wants is for their loved one to be uncomfortable during this time. The key is to help them feel safe and comfortable so that they can move through their grief in an accepting way rather than feeling angry or sad all the time.

Do not apologize.

Many people have experienced the death of a loved one, and it can be a painful experience. However, there are some things that you should never apologize for.

• It’s not your fault. You cannot change what happened in any way; no matter how much time has passed, or what kind of person they were when they died (or even if they were good people), it still happened. There is no point in blaming yourself for something out of your control!

• You can only do what you can do at the time of their passing: And that may mean nothing more than holding onto them as long as possible until someone comes along who knows CPR so that they can help revive them—which would likely mean saving their life even after all these years!

Think about what you want to say.

It’s important to remember that the person you are talking to may have different expectations of what you will say and how much time you should spend on each topic. They also may not be able to hear what you want them to hear, so be prepared for silence or being left out of conversations altogether.

If possible, ask questions instead of speaking directly about your own feelings or experiences related specifically to death and dying practices (such as funeral arrangements). This will allow people who know little about these topics an opportunity to share their own thoughts without feeling obligated by the fact that they have been asked certain questions in particular order.

Share memories but keep them positive.

• Don’t talk about the past in a negative way.

• Don’t talk about the future in a negative way.

• Don’t talk about the present in a negative way (unless you’re dealing with something like cancer).

• And don’t use words like “happy”, “joyful” and so on when talking about death, either: they are too general and don’t really describe anything specific enough for this topic!

Be there physically and emotionally.

You can make a difference in your loved one’s death and dying experience by being there for them, not just physically but also emotionally. Be a listening ear and support them through this difficult time. Be compassionate, honest and kind as well as sensitive to their needs.

Be present.

You can’t be present if you’re afraid to cry or ask questions.

You can’t be present if you don’t know what the person dying is thinking, feeling and saying.

You can’t be present if you feel that your emotions are too big for the conversation.

Help their family think about how they’re going to cope with the impending death, both emotionally and financially.

• Help the family financially. You can offer to help with funeral arrangements, or you can make a donation to their favorite charity in their name.

• Help them emotionally. Families may not be able to deal with the death of a loved one on their own—especially if they’ve never been through anything like it before—and it’s important that people around you understand this and help out as much as possible when they’re not feeling up for it (whether because they’re grieving or because they just don’t want any more stress).

• Be prepared for grief response times by knowing what resources are available locally; some cities have grief counseling services available via hotline numbers or online chat rooms so that those who need support can get it immediately in order to avoid long waits at hospitals or emergency rooms where staff members often struggle with understanding how different cultures work during times of crisis (for example, some doctors assume that all Muslims must be Shia Muslims).

Express your condolences, even if it’s hard.

Expressing your condolences can be a difficult thing to do, but it’s important. You don’t have to be a professional or even feel like one—just being there is enough. You could say things like “I’m sorry for your loss,” or “I’m sorry for your pain.” These are just some ideas; there are no rules when it comes to saying goodbye!

Seek out friends who can help you through the experience of watching someone you love die.

If you’re going through this kind of experience, it’s important to talk about it. If someone asks how your loved one died, tell them the truth and be honest with them—it can help them understand and support you in your grief. And if they are able to help you during this difficult time, that would be wonderful!

Support the person who is dying as best as you can and try to help them feel safe, loved and comfortable during the process.

As a caregiver, you want to do your best to support the person who is dying as much as possible. You can help them feel safe and loved by making sure they have access to things that they need at all times, including food and water. The last thing they will want is for their family members or friends to leave them alone in their room because it might make them feel scared or lonely. Try not only being there when they need something but also doing things like keeping an eye on him/her while he/she sleeps so that no one else has to worry about him/her being alone without any supervision (this includes making sure there aren’t any lights on).

The same goes for being comfortable: don’t try too hard; just relax! If someone asks me how long my son has left until his death day,” I say “a couple weeks”. But what does this mean? This means nothing except that I’m trying not say anything specific because otherwise people would start asking questions like “how long?” Which leads us back into situation where everyone wants answers but nobody knows where those answers come from…

Conclusion

We hope we’ve been able to give you some ideas on what to do when someone you love is dying. The most important thing, of course, is being there for them while they’re sick or dying. But if you don’t know what else to do, at least try these tips: express your condolences properly (even if it’s hard), make sure that their family knows how much they mean to you and how much love there will be left behind after death