According to the website Get Palliative Care:
"Palliative care is specialized medical care for people with serious illnesses. It focuses on providing patients with relief from the symptoms, pain, and stress of a serious illness—whatever the diagnosis. The goal is to improve quality of life for both the patient and the family.
Palliative care is provided by a team of doctors, nurses and other specialists who work together with a patient’s other doctors to provide an extra layer of support. It is appropriate at any age and at any stage in a serious illness and can be provided along with curative treatment."
From my point of view, in palliative care, the fact of having to break the news to a patient who has been diagnosed by a disease that is terminal, is the event / situation more difficult to manage within healthcare. Not everyone is qualified for this work, because even something that you can learn it and end up dominating over time, you have to be mentally capable of performing this task. We could say that "this skill is born and made."
Apart from that "innate ability" other elements we should learn are:
- Silence: a tool for information and therapy. It can be hard to respond to a "sometimes I think I wont get better." A silence reaffirms the patient believe that reflection and silence reports. Also, if you do not know what to say in a very emotional situation is better shut up.
- Active listening: we should listen the words of patients because sometimes silence gives more information than verbal expression. In many cases doctors tend to saturate the patient offering solutions. If a patient cries, would better facilitate the expression of emotion.
- Empathy is emotional solidarity "anyone in your place would suffer". An empathetic attitude towards patients gives us especially professional satisfaction and therefore reduce our suffering.
- Assertiveness: not enough to know what to do, the patient must perceive that we are sure of ourselves professionals. Even in situations of uncertainty.
Bibliography
- Ayarra M, Lizarraga S. Bad news and emotional support. Grupo de Comunicación y Salud de Navarra. 2001 ; 2. Available from: http://www.cfnavarra.es/salud/anales/textos/vol24/suple2/suple7a.html
- What Is Palliative Care?. Get Palliative Care. 2012. Available from: http://www.getpalliativecare.org/whatis/
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