Chronic Pain Management and Palliative End of life Care Case Case Study 2022

Running Head: CHRONIC PAIN MANAGEMENT, PALLIATIVE AND END-OF-LIFE CARE.
CHRONIC PAIN MANAGEMENT, PALLIATIVE AND END-OF-LIFE CARE.
(The Gibbs Reflective Cycle).
Name
Institutional affiliation

2
CHRONIC PAIN MANAGEMENT, PALLIATIVE AND END-OF-LIFE CARE
Contents
Description.................................................................................................................... 3
Introduction................................................................................................................ 3
Principles that govern the care of patients............................................................................3
Feelings and Evaluation..................................................................................................... 4
Pharmacological and evidence-based complementary therapy...................................................4
Acupuncture............................................................................................................. 6
Hypnotherapy........................................................................................................... 7
Aromatherapy........................................................................................................... 7
Reflexology, Tai chi and Yoga...................................................................................... 8
Mental health considerations............................................................................................ 8
Ethical and Legal issues in advanced care planning................................................................9
Analysis...................................................................................................................... 10
Conclusion................................................................................................................... 10
Action Plan.................................................................................................................. 10
References............................................................................................................... 11

3
CHRONIC PAIN MANAGEMENT, PALLIATIVE AND END-OF-LIFE CARE
Description
Introduction
Ensuring that a patient is comfortable as they undertake their treatment is the very definition of
nursing. It is a very delicate process, especially when the patient is suffering from a terminal
illness. Patients with terminal diseases undergo a lot of pain, both physical and psychological. In
the case of Michelle, physical pain is brought about by the breast cancer itself. She says that
undergoing the cancer treatment was very difficult. She says that the revelation that she had
breast cancer turned her world upside down (media.pcc4u.org). The psychological pain in this
case begins with the loss of hair. Further, Michelle is devastated by the news of her relapse
(media.pcc4u.org).Managing this pain is the one way of enabling them to lead a life with some
semblance of normality. Several tenets govern how this matter is approached. Understanding
these principles accords physicians with the knowledge needed to adequately care for their
patients. Pain management for terminal illness can be palliative or end-of-life care. The
philosophy of palliative care is to improve the quality of life of patients in chronic pain, and
those with life-limiting illnesses (O'Brien and Kane, 2014). Palliative care is given to patients
seeking to extend their life whereas the end of life care such as hospice is given to patients with
the intention of alleviating their suffering, as they approach their death (May et al., 2015).
Palliative care is also important in helping the patient’s kin cope with the knowledge of the pain
of their loved one. In the case of Michelle, Peter, her husband is aware that the triple negative
breast cancer that Michelle has is terminal (media.pcc4u.org). A palliative caregiver has to help
Peter accept that his wife will die, and help him go through the pain. This paper will give an
analysis of palliative, chronic and end of life care using Gibbs reflective cycle (Husebø, O’Regan
and Neste)

4
CHRONIC PAIN MANAGEMENT, PALLIATIVE AND END-OF-LIFE CARE
Principles that govern the care of patients
The principles include the principles of autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, and justice.
The principle of autonomy involves the self-governance by the patient. It means that patients
have a prerogative to information concerning their medication and choose a treatment method
that they deem suitable (Rahmani, Ghahramanian, and Alahbakhshian, 2010). During caregiving,
nurses can access a lot of a patient's personal information. Nurses have the responsibility of
respecting the patient's private matters and only focus on ensuring the patient's comfort. If a
patient opts not to take a medication that is beneficial to them, the nurse must respect that
decision. In Michelle’s case, nurses have to provide information of all the medication she will be
taking and all the pain relieving procedures she will be subjected to.
The principle of beneficence is concerned with minimizing potential harm and maximizing the
benefits of medical care to a patient (Haddad and Geiger, 2019). The caregivers must, therefore,
avoid maltreatment of patients and help them in doing activities that the patients re unable to
carry out on their own.
The principle of non-maleficence protects the patient from harm, intentional or otherwise. It,
however, put the nurse in a morally compromising situation if the patient refuses to take
medication that can save their lives. Finally, the principle of justice ensures that a patient is
treated fairly and equally. For instance, a patient in the rural setting has the right to access
medical facilities available to a patient in urban areas. Palliative and end-of-life caregivers must,
therefore, incorporate all these principles in the treatment of their patients (Myburgh et
al., 2016).