End-Stage Renal Disease | Essay

Running head: END STAGE RENAL DISEASE
1
END STAGE RENAL DISEASE
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation

END STAGE RENAL DISEASE
2
End-Stage Renal Disease
Hospice care is a type of care that is designed to provide supportive care to the individuals
that are on their final stage of critical illness. The primary focus of hospice care is to enhance
the quality of life and provide comfort for the patient to be able to manage pain. The majority
of the hospice programs are home-based; however, the services can be delivered away from
home in the medical facilities that are freestanding such as nursing homes. On the other hand,
hospice care majorly utilizes a multidisciplinary team approach that may comprise of the
doctor, nurse, clergy, and social workers in the administration of care. The services that may
be provided constitute speech, occupational, and physical therapy. In addition, drugs for pain
management, medical equipment and supplies, counseling, dietary, and bereavement services
may be provided (Kalantar‐Zadeh et al., 2015). On the other hand, hemodialysis is utilized on
the patients who have kidney failure, and the process involves the removal of toxic waste
from the bloodstream. This process can be utilized to increase the life expectancy of the
ESRD patients by improving the quality of life (Weisbord, 2016).
An end-stage renal disease patient (ESRD) was admitted to hospice care, which I was a
nurse. The patient was an Aboriginal Torres Strait Islander (ATSI) and known as John. He
was 20 years of age and had lost hope in the dialysis treatment when the doctor informed him
that he could not survive more than three months. The patient did not want any further
treatment and wanted to go home; however, his life expectancy would be reduced if he
stopped the treatment.
As a nurse who was looking after John, I realized that he was in pain; thus, I had to use IQ
pain control methods. I had to provide social, emotional, and spiritual aid to the patient as
well as diagnosing his symptoms as part of the treatment plan. The patient had more chances
of dying than surviving the dialysis even if he adhered to the medication. Haemodialysis
treatment is a complex process that requires a multidisciplinary team approach since it