Deathography Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Deathography - Essay Example The patient remained in palliative care for approximately four weeks before he passed away. It is his passing away that left a deep impression on me during my stint in palliative care and the reason fro my choice on reflecting on death and my experiences with death as a part of experiential learning that will be very useful to me in my career as nursing professional (Fowler, 2008). The significance of handling death and its implications to a nursing professional lies in the understanding that among all the health care professionals it is the professionals that are most immediate to the patients in end of life situations and can provide the care, comfort and counsel to such patients and their families (Dickinson, 2007). I had met the Catholic priest for the first time, when he was admitted into palliative care. Thoughts run through my mind, as to why this brief period of knowing and caring for the priest was to affect me so much. The most probable answer that I can find lies in the understanding of this provided by Tan et al, 200g. According to Tan et al 2006, p.17 â€Å"Nurses are at the forefront of caring for dying patients in hospices, nursing homes, acute-care hospitals, and patients’ homes† and â€Å"felt it reminded them of their own mortality, made them treasure life However, the passing away of the Catholic priest was not the first time that I was deeply affected by death. This occurred in my late teens, when my cousin, who was also my best friend and companion, passed away. This was not my first experience of death and my first brush with death did not leave me with grief and a sense of loss, as the death of my cousin did. My first experience of death in my family was the passing away of my grandmother, when I was five years old. I have hardly any memories of interaction with my grandmother, as she was quite sickly. Her passing away created no sadness in me. I cried when