Category: Tips For Nurses
Articles for nurses caring for terminally ill patients including how to manage challenging situations.
Finding Your Voice: How Nurses and Doctors Can Confidently Initiate End-of-Life Conversations
As a nurse or doctor, you have the power to transform patient care through timely end-of-life conversations. This guide provides practical strategies to help you confidently discuss prognosis, encourage advance care planning, and introduce hospice care when appropriate—across hospitals, nursing facilities, and more.
Supporting Your Loved One with Multiple Myeloma: A Guide to Compassionate Care From Diagnosis Through End-of-Life
This comprehensive guide helps patients, families, and caregivers understand Multiple Myeloma diagnosis and staging, explore survival expectations, and navigate palliative and hospice care options. Discover practical caregiving strategies and when early palliative care can enhance quality of life.
Building Confidence in Home Hospice: A Proven Path to Better Patient Care
Hospice providers have proven strategies to reduce symptom burden and boost satisfaction scores. Discover how combining nurse practitioner telehealth visits, educational videos, and end-of-life doula support transforms caregiver confidence and patient comfort in home-based care.
Understanding Acute Myeloid Leukemia: A Compassionate Guide to Disease Progression, Symptom Management, and End-of-Life Care
Navigate the journey of acute myeloid leukemia with confidence. This comprehensive guide covers disease progression, comfort-focused symptom management, and practical palliative and hospice care timing advice.
Understanding PACE: A Complete Guide to All-Inclusive Care That Keeps Seniors Home
The Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) provides essential support for seniors who require nursing home-level care but wish to remain in their communities. This comprehensive guide outlines eligibility requirements, available services, associated costs, and how PACE’s team-based approach helps older adults maintain their independence while receiving quality healthcare.
Hope Through Early Action: Understanding COPD and the Power of Early Detection
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a serious lung condition linked to smoking and vaping that affects millions of people. Understanding the connection between tobacco use and COPD, recognizing early symptoms, and pursuing timely treatment can significantly extend life expectancy and improve quality of life.
Aromatherapy for Life’s Challenges: Supporting Anxiety, Grief, Loss, and End-of-Life Care
Explore how aromatherapy and essential oils relieve anxiety, grief, loss, and critical symptoms like pain and nausea across all stages of life. Practical, safe use tips are provided for caregivers, doulas, and health professionals to support holistic well-being.
Using the RAIN Method to Navigate Grief, Loss, and Anxiety with Compassion
The RAIN method is a powerful mindfulness technique that helps individuals process grief, loss, and anxiety. This four-step approach—recognize, allow, investigate, and nurture—provides a compassionate way to work through difficult emotions. Learn how caregivers, family members, and end-of-life professionals can use RAIN.
Understanding Medication Risks in Hospice Dementia Care: A Guide for Families and Healthcare Teams
Recent University of Michigan research found that benzodiazepines and antipsychotics commonly prescribed in hospice care may significantly increase mortality risk for people with dementia. This article explores these findings and provides essential advocacy guidance for families, caregivers, and hospice professionals.
Nebulized Morphine: A New Approach to Managing Shortness of Breath in Hospice Care
Nebulized morphine provides significant relief for patients with severe breathlessness, especially in end-stage pulmonary diseases. Learn about its application, dosage, and benefits in hospice care.
Mastering IDT Notes: How the PIE Method Transforms Hospice Documentation
Discover how the PIE method (Problem-Intervention-Evaluation) can transform your hospice IDT note writing. This simple framework helps nurses create focused, compliant documentation even when patients are stable and well-managed.
When Fear Prevents Care: How Death Anxiety Threatens Hospice Nursing Excellence
Nursing students' fear of death significantly impacts their readiness for hospice care, affecting the quality of end-of-life services. With severe staffing shortages and insufficient mentorship, new nurses enter hospice unprepared. End-of-life doula education through programs like death doula schools provides crucial solutions.
Enhancing Patient Care: Recognizing Subtle Changes in Level of Consciousness for Hospice and Palliative Nurses
Discover essential techniques for hospice and palliative care nurses to identify subtle changes in patients' level of consciousness. This comprehensive guide covers assessment methods, red flags, and best practices for enhancing patient care—valuable insights for neurological nursing specialists and those aspiring to specialize in this field.
Safeguarding Seniors: Essential Monitoring of High-Risk Medications in Geriatric Care
Understanding the potential risks associated with certain medications in the geriatric population is crucial. This article explores the top five medication classes that require close monitoring to reduce the incidence of syncope, falls, and mortality events in older adults. Learn how to optimize medication management for safer patient care.
Safeguarding Geriatric Health: The Crucial Role of Regular BEERS Criteria Reviews
The BEERS Criteria is vital for improving medication safety in older adults. This article explores the importance of regularly reviewing these guidelines, discussing the frequency of reviews, the potential risks of inappropriate medications, and how healthcare providers can implement effective medication management strategies for geriatric patients.
When Goodbye Isn’t Clear: Understanding and Healing from Ambiguous Loss
Ambiguous loss is a type of grief that happens when loss feels unclear or unfinished. Unlike traditional grief, this emotional pain lacks closure, making it harder to process. Learn to recognize the signs of ambiguous loss and discover practical healing strategies to help you move forward with hope.
When Hearts Collide: A Gentle Guide to Resolving Any Conflict
Conflict happens in every relationship and setting. This practical guide teaches a proven 7-step approach developed by conflict resolution experts to recognize, prevent, and resolve disagreements compassionately. Learn essential de-escalation tools for better communication and stronger relationships.
Achieving HCI Excellence: The Ten Moments That Matter Most in Hospice Care
Transform your hospice's quality outcomes with Jose Escobar's proven Polaris 10/10 HCI Execution Framework. This comprehensive guide reveals the ten critical moments that drive hospice excellence and offers practical strategies for executives and clinicians to achieve perfect HCI scores.
How Legacy Projects Create Healing Pathways to Closure for Patients and Families
Legacy projects offer powerful pathways to closure for both patients facing end-of-life and their families. From memory quilts to ethical wills, these meaningful activities transform difficult goodbyes into lasting connections, reduce anxiety, and provide comfort during grief while preserving precious memories.
Making Informed POLST Decisions: A Compassionate Guide for Patients, Families, and Healthcare Teams
This comprehensive guide helps patients, families, and healthcare professionals confidently navigate POLST decisions. Learn the essential steps, understand your options, and ensure your end-of-life care wishes are honored through proper planning and communication.
The Unsung Heroes of Healthcare: How Palliative Care Nurses Transform Patient Care Beyond Terminal Diagnoses
Palliative care nurses serve as the cornerstone of compassionate healthcare, providing comfort and support to patients with serious illnesses at any stage—not just at end of life. These dedicated professionals bridge the gap between medical treatment and holistic care, ensuring patients and families receive comprehensive support through their healthcare journey.
Understanding AL Amyloidosis: A Family’s Guide to Care, Comfort, and Hope
AL amyloidosis is an uncommon yet severe condition that impacts various organs. This detailed guide provides essential information for patients and their families regarding symptoms, disease progression, treatment options, and the timing of considering hospice care for their loved one.
Crafting a Comprehensive Hospice Admission Note: A Guide for Registered Nurses
Learn about the essential elements of a comprehensive hospice admission note. This guide helps registered nurses document crucial patient information, from diagnoses to physical assessments, ensuring the delivery of quality end-of-life care and proper eligibility documentation.
How Hospitals Can Help Place Dementia Patients in Appropriate Care Settings
Discover how hospitals are crucial in helping families place dementia patients in appropriate care settings. This article explores various care options, discusses challenges in placement decisions, and provides evidence-based strategies for effective hospital-based care coordination to ensure the best possible outcomes for patients and their loved ones.