Prior to watching the videos and reviewing the readings I have had some experience with death both as a family member and as a healthcare provider. I have been an LNA for 5 years and have had numerous patients pass on. I have seen a wide range from “happy” deaths to sad or more tragic ones. I think there is something very special about a family surrounding their loved one at the end of life. Not only does it provide them with closure that they need but it also allows them to be physically present with their family member and sort of experience it with them. I personally am very afraid of death when it comes to me and my family but as a healthcare provider when I am in more of that support role, I handle it a lot better. I think it is very important to maintain the patient’s modesty throughout the entire process, including end of life care or postmortem care. To me that patient that once was, is still my patient even when they have passed on, to the time that they go to the morgue or funeral home. Realizing that the patient can still hear you up until the final moments is of upmost importance because it gives you the opportunity to provide comfort in more than one way. 

Death with dignity challenges my beliefs to a certain extent however I do realize that administering morphine and keeping the patient comfortable is helping practice the “do no harm” mentality because it is putting their body through less suffering, in the sense that I helps make the process more comfortable for them. It also helps regulate their oxygen saturation and respirations make it more comfortable, so they are not literally gasping for breath. I think as nurses it’s hard to sometimes see that we are not “killing” the patient by pushing that dose of morphine. I have not been in this position as a nurse yet but I would hope that my feelings remain the same in that I know that this is what is truly best for the patient to keep them comfortable and with hopes to make it less of a traumatic experience for the family.