Article Analysis Essay on Sentara Hospice: An Organizational Study

Introduction

The issue of serving terminally ill patients can have an impact on the psychology of the practitioners dealing with the patients. In most cases, dealing with terminally ill patients is more of a calling rather than a career. Most people consider hospice care as more of volunteer work or responsibility that comes from within an individual. The journal "Sentara Hospice: An Organizational Study" analyses some of the issues that social workers undergo, particularly in dealing with terminally ill patients. Dealing with terminally ill patients demands a lot, particularly from the nursing staff dealing with the patients. Dealing with terminally ill patients means that the patients have less than six months to live and demands a lot of dedication and compassion, which can take a toll on the nursing practitioners working with the patients.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Order now

Studies done by the chaplain at Sentara Healthcare in Chesapeake indicates that dealing with terminally ill patients can be a daunting task. A survey from the nurses suggested that the profession was more of a "calling." Continuing with the concept of calling, most of the respondents allude their gifts from the ability to relate with people who are suffering and the ability to tender to their issues. An example is from a respondent who stated that she knew that the profession was her calling after dealing with terminally ill children from her previous jobs. Not everyone can handle sensitive situations whereby death is inevitable as is with the case of Sentara Healthcare.

According to research on hospital nurses and paramedics indicated that instances of burnouts affected empathy in nurses and their ability to deal with patients. The study coincides with the narrative from Sentara Healthcare, whereby the tasks can be challenging to the extent the nurses lose sight of their mission. Some of the challenges aired by the nurses indicated that working long hours or the physical tasks created instances whereby the nurses found it difficult to deal with patients.

One of the issues that arise is also the well-being of the nurses in executing their work. Some of the challenges to which they face require perseverance. However, most people forget that nurses too are humans, and in most cases in the event of a burnout, nurses may exhibit limited empathy to the patients. Throughout the interviews, the author unearths the main factor that keeps the nurses working even through tribulations: prayer. The author maintains that spirituality plays a key factor as to how the nurses carry out their tasks. Most of the respondents attribute their ability to serve comes from their love for the profession. According to the respondents, the ability to impact a person's life is what drives them to work at Sentara Healthcare.

Another challenge that the author identifies from the study is the case whereby the nurses get attached to patients. Since the hospital deals with terminally ill patients, there are at times whereby deaths occur, and some of the nurses may have invested their emotions into the patient. The author states that nurses have to possess the ability to "disconnect, re-energize, shut down, or decompress to prevent compassion fatigue or burnout."

In analyzing the implications of facing constant pressure from deaths within the hospice and the increased amounts of work, the author discovered that spirituality plays a central role in how the caregivers carry out their work. In some instances, there were doubts about whether a higher being existed, especially when the practitioners came across patients suffering and ultimately dying. Experiencing this kind of trauma can sometimes derail an individual's stance on spirituality.

However, the hospice has been constructed to nurture the spirituality of the practitioners aside from offering a place for the terminally ill. Having a collection of caregivers' within the hospice means that they consult with one another and provide support to the downtrodden. The consensus within the institution is all people belong to God. Families bring their loved-ones with the belief that the staff will handle the patients with the care. Therefore all the staff members rely on the scripture, which calls for treating people with empathy. The help also extends to the family members since they also get afflicted by the impending death of their loved ones. The institution is more of a sacred ground as the author notes allowing both the families and the staff to console one another. The phrase sacred ground, in this case, takes a double entendre offering the patients a place to depart peacefully while also offering the family members a place for acceptance and consolation.

It is the duty of the staff, as the author notes to form relationships with families. The strong bond formed means that the practitioners can attend the patients with the care and love in service to the family. Earlier findings indicate that the relationship formed can be detrimental to the well-being of a nursing practitioner and can derail the nurse's morale and spirits. However, it is the caregiver's spirituality, and the mission to serve that supports the three pillars of Sentara Healthcare (dignity, comfort, and quality of life) in providing both physical and emotional care to the patients.

Bibliography

"Sentara Hospice: An Organizational Study." April 2019, 1-30. Accessed June 17, 2019.

Williams, Brett, Rosalind Lau, Emma Thornton, and Lauren Olney. "The Relationship between Empathy and Burnout - Lessons for Paramedics: A Scoping Review." Psychology Research and Behavior Management Volume 10 (2017): 329-37. doi:10.2147/prbm.s145810.