Something to Think About

I do not think there is a need for narcotics just because death is approaching. Dying is not painful. Disease causes pain...

Most families are stressed, tempers can flare, nerves get frayed. It is up to us, as professionals, to use our communication skills to ease the tensions...

The congestion that occurs before death will depend upon how hydrated ordehydrated a person is. The more fluids in their body, the more congestion.Sometimes changing their position (laying them on...

Death for those who work in end of life is not failureor the enemy. It is the ending of the work we do. Our satisfaction in thedeath of a patient...

A great question. You have actually touched on a line of thinking that a lot of people have about the use of narcotics at end of life: that the narcotic...

Dear Barbara, Talk about the dangers of giving morphine to one who is dying? I have written many articles on morphine yet I repeatedly get this question. What that tells...

I was just on the phone with a woman who told me the doctor told her friend he was surprised she had lived this long with the disease having spread...

Dear Barbara, what are the physical changes in appearance during the dying process? Also talk about not forcing food upon the dying. The physical changes in appearance during the dying...

Now, all this said, there are thin lines and points to debate, in what istreatment to get better and treatment for comfort. Is pneumonia related to alife threatening illness or...

Where is medicine that treats PEOPLE that have diseases? Where is medicine that looks at the PERSON and finds out how they want to live and die based upon their...

First, lets define “No Code”. The simplest explanation I found was Googled from the Free Dictionary http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/no+code“a note written in the patient record and signed by a qualified, usually senior or...

We have the medical capabilities and procedures to keep a person alivealmost indefinitely BUT is it in the best interest of the person to do so? Wehave to ask “what...

We die the way we have lived and there are few death bed conversions. Facing the end of our life does make us look at life and its meanings, but...

Because we don’t really think about end of life care until we or someone close to us needs it we enter into relationships with hospice that may not be satisfactory...

...The end of life avocation that hospice originally presented is becoming a gift of the past. Now it is a business with high censuses, detailed and often confusing regulations, and...

Dear Barbara, I recently had a meeting with a family that was referred to hospice from a facility. They had about 10 family members at the meeting. The topic of...

We often think because a person is facing the end of their life we have to do whatever they want us to, regardless of how it affects us. We treat...

I appreciate how much you love your mother. I see the challenge you are dealing with in her attitude and behavior. As much as we love someone our feelings can...

...Most people, I am sorry to say, are so caught up in the process of getting treatment (and generally get very sick in that process) that  they don’t feel well...

QUESTION to Barbara: I need some help. As of yesterday afternoon I am officially fed up. I have been an RN case manager for seven years. The whole “industry” is...

Barbara, People have asked me when and how I can offer others your booklets. With anyone, an acquaintance or close friend, you can always just say, “I have some materials...