The religious politics of end-life conversations

The religious politics of end-life conversations
- 23 Dec 2010
- 4 Responses
- views
- Edit
- Delete
- Tags
- Autopost
Progress is being made on the end-of-life medical consultations, giving people access to advanced tech/pharm options. It is still contentious in religious circles where there are many people who do not want their family members to have choices because choices open up the door for unwanted family conflicts.

So, what can health care professionals do to make these conversations easier for families and significant others? Would it take a seismic shift in cultural views on life and death to ease the needless suffering in these conversations?
- Tweet
- 4 responses
- Like
- Comment
over 1 year ago Amy Govoni responded:

Health care professionals can help start these conversations with families and significant others...advocating for the person who is dying, on a regular basis with every patient. Being there to support all those involved, while reminding everyone that the person dying is the one with the power to make their own decisions if they are conscious, and they should be the focus. Helping people choose wisely those that will make end of life decisions for them is the first step in helping families start talking about these decisions way before they are needed. Old conflicts frequently direct decision making at a time that could be all about sharing one's heart with those that mean the most to you. Cultural shifts can be supported by those in health care who support the discussions while understanding their own struggles so as to not interfere with others' beliefs. And making sure that health care professionals have their own discussions with their own families early on...the talks are never easy, but the outcomes for all are priceless...So many of the stories are/could be about living and what their lives were like, who was important to them and what they remember about their experiences and relationships. That is what living is about after all...

over 1 year ago Jack Ricchiuto responded:

Thanks Amy. Most interesting is the notion that health care providers/guiders experience their own families' end stage conversations first suggests a best practice that hospitals ask providers to do this before attempting to do so with their patients and patient families, nurses and docs included! Nice.

over 1 year ago Donna Miller (Facebook) responded:

We went through this with my mom. She died of COPD in 2003. Two years earlier, she almost died of COPD, but was put on a ventilator. It was an awful experience for her and she made it known that if ever she had to be kept alive that way again she didn't want it.
She made the decision easy for us. In both instances the decision was easy, because it was worth giving it a shot once.
I've heard that doctors are being encouraged to discuss end-of-life care with their patients in a non-emergency situation.
I don't like this idea. First off, personally I would find that conversation very alarming and the distress would probably kill me.
And for people who aren't as easily rattled as me when it comes to these things, it could have the effect of creating a sense of depression, which doesn't do anybody any good.

over 1 year ago Elaine Lipman Barnes (Facebook) responded:

The Hospice of the Western Reserve (trained as a "vigil volunteer" as well as other patient-centered volunteering) did a tremendous job talking about and providing training for assisting with these end of life issues.
While it provided training that addressed the feelings, emotions, family dynamics of the dying, the training also addressed cultural, societal rituals, ethical standards, and a wide range of issues that come up when person approaches death.
The study of other cultures; an understanding of the fact that other cultures and worldviews exist expand our mind to the possibilities and enable us to envision more and sometimes better ways to cope with the beginnings, middle and endings of this life. If we learn a little about each other, it becomes easier to learn from each other and to perhaps live our lives more fully, honestly and respectfully.
In the meantime, we all might benefit with a fairly common practice for funerals in India: hire a wailer; hire someone to do the screaming for us so that we may get on with the activities of life and pass on the angst of the unknown to a hired mouth.

Archive
- 2012 (208)
  - April (28)
  - April (49)
  - March (44)
  - February (45)
  - December (42)
- 2011 (549)
  - December (36)
  - November (39)
  - October (39)
  - September (43)
  - August (48)
  - July (56)
  - June (46)
  - May (49)
  - April (51)
  - March (50)
  - February (47)
  - January (45)
- 2010 (364)
  - December (30)
  - November (30)
  - October (31)
  - September (30)
  - August (31)
  - July (31)
  - June (30)
  - May (31)
  - April (31)
  - March (30)
  - February (29)
  - January (30)
- 2009 (365)
  - December (32)
  - November (29)
  - October (31)
  - September (30)
  - August (32)
  - July (30)
  - June (31)
  - May (30)
  - April (31)
  - March (29)
  - February (28)
  - January (32)
- 2008 (225)
  - December (32)
  - November (30)
  - October (35)
  - September (29)
  - August (32)
  - July (31)
  - June (30)
  - May (6)
- 2007 (285)
  - October (13)
  - September (30)
  - August (31)
  - July (31)
  - June (31)
  - May (29)
  - April (30)
  - March (32)
  - February (27)
  - January (31)
- 2006 (367)
  - December (31)
  - November (31)
  - October (31)
  - September (32)
  - August (32)
  - July (29)
  - June (31)
  - May (31)
  - April (30)
  - March (31)
  - February (28)
  - January (30)
- 2005 (365)
  - December (30)
  - November (30)
  - October (31)
  - September (29)
  - August (32)
  - July (31)
  - June (29)
  - May (31)
  - April (33)
  - March (30)
  - February (29)
  - January (30)
- 2004 (366)
  - December (32)
  - November (30)
  - October (31)
  - September (30)
  - August (30)
  - July (32)
  - June (30)
  - May (31)
  - April (30)
  - March (30)
  - February (30)
  - January (30)
- 2003 (368)
  - December (31)
  - November (31)
  - October (31)
  - September (30)
  - August (32)
  - July (32)
  - June (29)
  - May (32)
  - April (29)
  - March (31)
  - February (29)
  - January (31)
- 2002 (141)
  - December (30)
  - November (30)
  - October (31)
  - September (31)
  - August (19)
- 1999 (1)
  - November (1)
Get Updates

Subscribe via RSS
Sites I Like

Jack/Zen

The religious politics of end-life conversations

Archive

Get Updates

Sites I Like