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conferenceseries
.com
Volume 7, Issue 5 (Suppl)
J Palliat Care Med, an open access journal
ISSN: 2165-7386
Geriatrics 2017
September 4-5, 2017
September 4-5, 2017 | Edinburgh, Scotland
Geriatrics Gerontology & Palliative Nursing
7
th
International Conference on
HONORINGTHYSELF:DISENFRANCHISEDGRIEFANDTHEPROFESSIONALCAREGIVER
Michelle Funk-Coltman
a
a
Thompson Rivers University, Canada
M
uch has been written that highlights that fact that the profession of nursing is stressful and taxing both physically and
emotionally on nurses. Most recently, the field of end of life (EOL) and palliative care has been acknowledged as a
stressful occupation and that burnout, attrition, and a nurse’s personal involvement is unique to this particular field of health
care (Huggard & Nichols 2001; Lobb et al, 2010; Rollings, 2008). Caring for the nursing staff working within the field of EOL
and palliative care has not kept pace with the advances in self-care that is acknowledge for other health care professionals.
According to Gerow et al, 2010, the impact of death on a family and its members has been well documented throughout
the literature including the grief response and process, yet the grieving process and self-care of registered nurses during
and following the death of a patient has not been researched extensively as a result. The purpose of this presentation is to
demonstrate identify gaps that exist in EOL and palliative nursing for registered nurses in terms of self-care. Secondly, evidence
will be presented in support of models that exist for registered nurses and policy makers to implement self-care within their
organizations and into the EOL or palliative care setting. Implications of the lack of consideration of self-care in the profession
will be discussed throughout the paper. Additionally, the concept of disenfranchised grief will be deliberated in terms of how
this phenomenon has an additional negative affect and its consequences for health care professionals.
J Palliat Care Med 2017, 7:5(Suppl)
DOI: 10.4172/2165-7386-C1-012