Journal of palliative medicine
-
After 20 years of debate regarding the appropriateness of family-witnessed resuscitations (FWR), little substantive data exist to suggest a benefit or harm to the family member. ⋯ Bereavement related depression and PTSD symptoms are commonly seen in family members of cardiac arrest victims, however, the magnitude of the effect is not impacted by witnessing or not-witnessing CPR in the ED.
-
Teaching advanced communication skills requires educators who are not only excellent communicators themselves but have the ability to deconstruct the components of the interaction and develop a cognitive approach that can be used across a variety of learners, diverse content, and under different time constraints while helping the learner develop the skill of self-reflection in a 'safe' and effective learning environment. The use of role-play in small groups is an important method to help learners cultivate the skills required to engage in nuanced, often difficult conversations with seriously ill patients. ⋯ The challenge is to do this in a manner that does not cause too much anxiety for the learner. In this article we outline an approach to teaching communication skills to advanced learners through the use of different types of role-play, feedback, and debriefing.
-
Pediatric palliative care (PPC) specialists recognize spiritual care as integral to the services offered to seriously ill children and their families. Little is known about how PPC programs deliver spiritual care. ⋯ Our survey of these PPC programs found that spiritual care was typically provided by staff chaplains, and our interviews indicated that chaplains appeared to be well-integrated members of these teams. Further research is needed to evaluate how well the spiritual needs of patients, families, and staff are being met, and the organizational factors that support the delivery of spiritual care in children's hospitals.
-
To examine the reported rates and predictive factors for sleep disturbance in patients with bone metastases. ⋯ Age, Karnofsky Performance Scale (KPS), pain score, and lung primary were the significant variables associated with sleep disturbance. The scores for sleep disturbance improved significantly post-RT in responders at week 4 and 12.