A Personal Story of Caring: Palliative Care for a Patient with Jaundice and Perforated Bowel

This article discusses a nurse's experience providing palliative care to a patient with jaundice and perforated bowel. It highlights the importance of hygiene, pain management, and nutrition in caring for palliative patients. The article also explores the concepts of caring in nursing practice and the role of teamwork in palliative care. It concludes with a discussion on new understandings of professional caring and the importance of evidence-based practice in nursing.

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NUR1100 Introduction to Nursing Praxis
University
Unit
Name
Tutor

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A personal story of caring
My encounter entailed offering palliative care to a patient admitted in the ward with a
diagnosis of jaundice and perforated bowel state, this necessitated admission for palliative
care. The patient upon arrival at the ward had deteriorating conditions and as a nurse, I had to
take care of the patient and to manage his conditions while continuing to receive treatment.
The patient further was experiencing a perforated bowel state. The state of the patient was
crucial and I had to offer and ensure there are good hygiene and improved state of the patient.
With the deteriorating state of the bowel function of the patient, I had to ensure that I bath the
patient and change all his clothing, as lack of cleanliness is a critical risk for multiple
infections in the lab. After managing the hygiene status of the patient, I offered relieve
analgesics in order to alleviate the pain of the patient. This was essential in assisting the
patient in having good posture in the bed. The patient was complaining of pain and fatigue
due to the state of the disease. I ensure that I manage the patient bed rest. Further, the patient
was feeling hungry; I had to ensure that I make requisition of the right diet for the diet which
will improve his state despite the bowel perforation condition he had developed. My key role
was to assist the patient in eating and ensuring that he sits in bed with ease, in addition to
assisting in pain management through appropriate analgesics and hygiene of the patient.
Concepts of caring and links with nursing practice
Caring aspects are critical values for every health care professional (Watson, 2011).
Attainment of quality care entails offering and facilitating care with utmost dignity of human
life. Communication and care process are essential in ensuring continuity of care Jones
(2012). There is a need for a holistic approach of care to facilitate caring aspects when
dealing with palliative patients, with this regard, nurses have a big role to play in the
provision of care (Mann & Gooberman‐Hill, 2011). Further, it is important that in palliative

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care state, the essence of a teamwork approach with other health care professionals is
essential in ensuring that the patient receives the utmost care. The World Health Organization
defines palliative care as an attempt or process of ensuring that there is an improvement on
quality of care of patients and their families in light of associated life-threatening disease,
through prevention and alleviation of suffering. These processes of alleviating suffering entail
a continuous assessment of pain and offering comfort and psychological peace during
associative problems of physical, psychosocial and spiritual matters of patients (McLeod,
Tapp, Moules & Campbell, 2010).
According to NMBA, standards 5 details how nurses develops plans for practices.
Thus as a nurse ensure that care is developed for the patient is essential. NMBA standard 6
guides nurses on provision of safe and responsive quality nursing care practices. . Adherence
to these values forms basic guidance for nurses towards evaluating and implementing care
practices in the nursing arena (Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia, 2016).
Caring attributes in nursing entails values of honesty and connecting with the patients
and being resilient on the patient’s state of health. A caring nurse needs to offer great
competence and demonstrate interests, vulnerability and reaching out for comfort to the
patient. Studies have demonstrated that the beneficial effects of caring aspects for patients in
nursing practices enhance positive outcomes such as self-esteem, knowledge, coping
mechanism, physical outcomes and social outcomes for both the nurses and patients (Ackley
et al., 2019).
The essence of palliative care for the terminally ill patient shows how critical the
aspect is during this period. The general health care professionals often handle the situation in
a holistic manner by offering ding patients with the utmost dignity and support during the
dying process. Palliative care perspectives utilize a team approach in ensuring that all the

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team players in the delivery of services are involved. Thus it is crucial to learn that caring is
an important element in the nursing profession as it leads to improved healing process and
prevention of further illness and save time (Midbust et al., 2018).
Caring by Watson (2011) is the process of encompassing the human overall
perspective in a manner that ensures that there are protection and enhancement towards
protection of life and preservation of human life. The nursing roles often adhere to the
perspectives. There is need ensuring that care provided as nurses are aimed at improving the
lives of patients and upholding health.
New understandings of professional caring
Figure 1 My caring image (online, n.d)
Figure 1 image depicts my value of care towards patients in my nursing practices. The
patient and the family form the central pillar of care values. Prioritizing care and planning for
the patients is key aspects in nursing practices. As a nurse, there is need to focus on
maintenance of high standards of practices in order to achieve positive patient outcomes.
Nursing practices are of critical importance, it ensures various factors including the
way nurses conduct themselves, inclusive of their caring levels with their patients. The role of

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person-centered care is aimed at focusing on the needs of the patients rather than the needs of
the health care professions. More often nowadays, patients have their own definitions of what
is best for them, thus as a nurse, there is need to be flexible in suiting to these needs of the
patients (Farr & Cressey, 2015).
The evidenced-based practice has been viewed as a process of hand wring current
research knowledge into common care appraises in health care to improve the overall care
provided to patents. With this perspective, there is a need for health care improvement s
among nurses to redesign care in order to be effective efficient and safe to the patients
(Stevens, 2013).
Professional standards in nursing practice offer competency in the level of care
offered to the patients. A standard offers an opportunity to reflect the desired and achievable
level of nursing activity in which the nurse’s activity can make comparisons. The essences of
standards are crucial in ensuring that nursing care is offered in a manner that offers
maintenance of safe clinical competency level (Harrison, 2010).
Caring constitutes various meanings. Various research and scholars have offered
varied meanings of care from different context with universal meaning remaining plausible
(Ketchem, 2016). The essence of professional nursing providers at all levels is geared
towards providing and deliver vital care of the patients which ensures the quality of life.
Medical assistance offers compassion, companionship, and comfort to the patients. Various
types of care providers provide different levels of care based on training, education, and
experience (Martin, 2015).
The nursing process in delivering care entails making of clinical judgment with the
aim of striking a balance between personal assessment and research evidence which
entrenches critical thinking in categorizing clients care issues. The nursing care process offers

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a framework in which the nurses engage in ensuring that patient history assessment is
undertaken. It entails assessing the patient, diagnosing, planning and implementing. These
steps are crucial in planning for care process for the patient which is essential in the delivery
of health care. Hence, there is need to focus on care delivery as an avenue of ensuring that
patients receive appropriate and quality care in improving their state. Enhancing teamwork
and collaboration with other health care professionals is essential in strengthening care
practices and offers avenues for learning and gaining experiences on how to incorporate best
care for patients.

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