Inspirational Speech by Dr. Randy Pausch: The Last Lecture. Dr. Pausch Passed Away On July 25, 2008

The Talk

One of the nurses on my unit one afternoon showed us all an episode on Opera that dealt with a man dying of pancreatic cancer. This man had months to live, and wrote a lecture for his last class, which he taught at University. This lecture was a look at his life, his accomplishments, and what he learned about his own life. His lecture moved me, with his views on life and death. Every time I watch this video I get a deep feeling inside me. It really opened my eyes on how I was feeling and living my life. It also helped me have a different outlook when I am working on the palliative care unit. I remember when I was young and day dreamed, I felt I was far from that child. I seemed to have forgotten to just enjoy the moment. He inspired me to continue in my nursing education from a RPN to BSCN. I feel that everyone would benefit from watching this video, because I did.

Palliative Care: What it is and who is it for?

Palliative Care

People have been dying for ever, the job I perform is to help them die. It may seem harsh, but it’s a needed field in nursing. Palliative care is a way to help people that have terminal illnesses, have a nice death. Not all patients come to die; some come for pain and symptom management. Nurses that are dedicated to palliative care are well educated in terminal illnesses, which could be different types of cancer. They are very special souls that I work with. Some families have called us “Angels”. To relieve pain and nausea for patients can become mentally straining. Our goal is to make the patient as comfortable as possible, without over stepping the patient and patient’s family wishes. Palliative care is becoming more common in North America, doctors and nurses have been developing new tools to help patients communicate more effectively. There seems to be a fear of coming to the unit, the fear of the unknown, but when they do finally come down we try our best to make them feel secure in our hands.

Why Nurse?

I have been asked this question quite a few times. I think I decided to be a nurse, when I was with my grand-mother, as she was receiving chemotherapy for cancer at Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto. I had a burning desire to make a difference, to make patients time in a hospital better. I also liked the fact that every day is filled with new faces and opportunities to learn, that will expand my knowledge in the nursing field. I became a correctional nurse because of my back ground in Law and Security Administration, and a palliative nurse because I enjoy working with patients that are fighting cancer. I become exhausted, mentally drained from dealing with patients, families, workload, and working a variety shifts, I still find the strength to carry on with my duties. After that shift ends, I head home with a warm sense, that I did make a difference.

Communication barrier!

As a nurse, working on a Continuing Care unit where a large percentage of patients awaiting placement to nursing homes, I deal with communication barriers every shift. One example would be, when I had a patient who was dependant on hearing aids for both ears and one of the hearing aid batteries ran out. This patient became very distraught and stated that she could not hear anything without them. I decided to phone the patients family, who informed me that they could bring in batteries but not for a couple of days. When I told the patient about this, the patient became even more upset. So I sat with this patient for a while until she calmed down. As a result of this I was put behind in my workload. In today's nursing world one has more jobs to do and less time to do it in. I wish that I could have spent more time with this patient, to ease her anxiety and feelings of isolation. Other forms of comunication could have been used for example, note pads or picture boards. I would also like to see back up batteries readily available to avoid this in future.

The use of video/podcast in Nursing

Today there is a big demand for nurses to work all different shifts. This tends to be a problem when education comes into effect. Most nurses would like to be part of information sessions and courses offered at Hospitals or other institutions that they work at. By using video/podcasts all nurses could be on the same level of opportunity for learning. Video/podcasts can be accessed at any specific time or place that has Internet access. Also nurses can learn at a rate that they are most comfortable at, instead of being rushed or pushed by a time frame. I feel that using video/podcasts is a great way of giving the nurses a chance to upgrade there skills and learning.

Hey,

Well this is week three of five as a new student at UOIT. This blog will express assignments and research in nursing that I will have to complete for school. I also might add abit about me! Stay tuned!