West Coast University End of Life Care Discussion

I’m working on a nursing discussion question and need a sample draft to help me learn.

E. L. is an 88-year-old widow who has advanced dementia. She is a retired secretary and is cared for in the home of her divorced daughter, who is her power of attorney for health affairs. E. L. requires assistance with all activities of daily living. She spends most of the day sitting in her orthopedic recliner (she has had bilateral hip replacements) or lying in bed. She does not speak or acknowledge the presence of others. Recently, E. L. has stopped eating all meals except for small banana slices. She resists a spoon when it is brought to her mouth, and she pockets food in her cheeks without swallowing. E. L. was admitted to the hospital several months ago for influenza and bilateral pneumonia. She was treated in the intensive care unit for three days and then sent home. The possibility of a feeding tube insertion was discussed during her hospitalization. E. L.’s daughter is seeking guidance on artificial nutrition and hydration.

• Use the assigned readings to guide you in the development of five discussion points
• Discussions points should reflect best practices that you will include as you speak with E. L.’s daughter regarding her mother’s end-of-life care.
• Cite your references in proper APA Style.
• Review the rubric for more information on how your assignment will be graded
• Resources
• American Association of Colleges of Nursing. (2017). CARES: Competencies and recommendations for educating undergraduate nursing students. Preparing nurses to care for the seriously ill and their families. Retrieved from http://www.aacnnursing.org/Portals/42/ELNEC/PDF/New-Palliative-Care-Competencies.pdf?ver=2017-07-27-151036-973 (Links to an external site.)
• CPH and Associates. (2015). Who can give informed consent and what is the nurse’s role in obtaining consent for treatment? Retrieved from https://www.cphins.com/who-can-give-informed-consent-and-what-is-the-nurses-role-in-obtaining-consent-for-treatment/ (Links to an external site.)
• Fitch, M. I., Fliedner, M. C., & O’Connor, M. (2015). Nursing perspectives on palliative care 2015. Annals of Palliative Medicine, 4(3). Retrieved from http://apm.amegroups.com/article/view/7034/7817 (Links to an external site.)
• Hackethal, V. (2015). End-of-life care: 40 years of incremental progress. Medscape. Retrieved from https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/839629#vp_1 (Links to an external site.)
• Hebert, K., Moore, H., & Rooney, J. (2011). The nurse advocate in end-of-life care. Ochsner Journal, 11(4), 325–329. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3241064/ (Links to an external site.)
• Miller, B.J.(2015). What really matters at the end of life [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/bj_miller_what_really_matters_at_the_end_of_life?utm_source=tedcomshare&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=tedspread (Links to an external site.)
• Mirarchi, F. L. (2016). Interpreting end-of-life documents. Medscape. Retrieved from https://www.medscape.com/features/slideshow/end-of-life-documents (Links to an external site.)
• Reichlin, M. (2014). On the ethics of withholding and withdrawing medical treatment. Multidisciplinary Respiratory Medicine, 9, 39. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1186/2049-6958-9-39