Loss and Grief Essay Sample

Loss and heartache in nursing is a widely discussed psychosocial theory and in this essay we will look at it further in nursing attention. Loss is an inevitable portion of life. and heartache is a natural portion of the healing procedure. or to be defined separately. “Loss is wider than a response to a decease. of import as that is. It is any separation from person or something whose significance is such that it impacts our physical or emotional wellbeing. function and status” ( Weinstien 2008. p. 2 ) . “Bereavement is the response to a loss. It is a nucleus human experience. common to. and besides changing across all civilizations and historical periods. Grief is the interpersonal or psychological look of the bereavement” ( Weinstien 2008. p. 3 ) . In this essay we besides explain the importance of nurses understanding loss and heartache and its important function in nursing attention. We besides want to exemplify the different responses excessively loss and how we as nurses can assist and care during the grieving procedure. This can be helped achieved through the different theories of loss which we besides look at and how we can use these theories in nursing attention and pattern. Wright ( 2007 ) . negotiations extensively about the different signifiers of loss and how life alterations produce feelings of loss which lead excessively grief. These life alterations could change from the decease of a partner or close friend to the decease of a pet or loss of a occupation to retirement. Each signifier will hold different effects on different persons.

As Penson ( 1990 ) points out that decease and loss of a loved one is something in life that we are all likely to see and more frequently as professionals in nursing attention. This is besides highlighted in an article from the Nursing Standard. It conveys that decease is a state of affairs that is often encountered by nurses and other health care professionals in the class of their work. It is of import that nurses have a good apprehension of the reactions and responses to grief and bereavement so that they are in a better place to back up patients. household members and relations during the grieving procedure ( Buglass 2010 ) . Harmonizing to Greenstreet ( 2004 ) the nurse is normally the healthcare professional nowadays at an expected decease and are hence involved in back uping the important others. the subsisters at the minute of mourning. Peoples struggle with many intense and awful emotions. including depression. choler. and guilt. Often. they feel stray and entirely in their heartache. Having person to tilt on can assist them through the grieving procedure. The mental wellness practician needs to understand heartache and acknowledge the function it plays in medical and psychiatric jobs ( Worden 1991 ) .

Loss and the related emotions are everyplace in health care and we are in the place to utilize our ain experiences of loss and heartache to assist understand and pass on to the patient. In assisting our apprehension. theories can assist us stand outside the state of affairs and retain a professional boundary. Kubler-Ross ( 1969 ) theory on decease and deceasing resulted in deceasing people discoursing how they felt after hearing the intelligence of their terminal province. The five phases identified were Denial. Anger. Bargaining. Depression and Acceptance. These celebrated five phases have been applied in nursing attention and although referred to as a phase theoretical account. it is non expected or likely that people will work through their losingss in the declared order. In nursing attention utilizing the Kubler-Ross theory the patient enters the first phase of the sorrowing process-a province of daze and denial. As they accept the world of the loss and get down to inquire inquiries. they are unwittingly get downing the healing procedure. This moves to anger which can be directed at different people including the nurse. They so begin to dicker. they will make anything non excessively experience the hurting of the loss.

The following phase in this theory is depression and is looked at as a procedure of healing and a necessary measure along the manner. Finally comes acceptance nevertheless this is non stating that everything is now alright it is recognizing the new world and readjusting as heartache has to be given clip ( Kubler-Ross. 1969 ) . Another similar theory is that of Worden ( 2002 ) used the stage theoretical account of mourning to develop a curative theoretical account called ‘the undertakings of mourning’ . It besides is applied in phases. accepting the world of the loss. sing the hurting of the loss. seting to an environment in which the dead person is losing and looking at puting in other relationships with the object of loss integrated into the new hereafter as the bereft individual chooses. Harmonizing to White and Ferszt ( 2009 ) they identify Wordens ( 2002 ) theory as four undertakings that must be completed and each undertaking provides a normative usher for counselors to utilize in easing an individual’s heartache. Although they recognise that this theory can be used as a usher they province that cautiousness must besides be given non to oversimplify the attack to grief guidance and place the different single header manners.

In contrast to Kubler-Ross ( 1969 ) and Worden ( 2002 ) theories. Strobe and Schut’s ( 1999 ) double procedure theoretical account takes a different attack and travel off from stages. This describes how the bereaved person has to get by with the experience of loss itself every bit good as other alterations that result from it. For one thing it could be argued that those phased theories are excessively specific for loss and heartache in nursing attention. The strength of Strobe and Schut’s ( 1999 ) theory harmonizing to White and Ferszt ( 2009 ) is that it allows for wide application of gender and cultural differences in the grieving procedure. Neimeyer and Anderson ( 2002 ) theory sing the grieving procedure is achieved through ‘telling the story’ it is similar to that of the double procedure theoretical account that it identifies that each individual experiences loss in a different and a alone manner. With respect to all the above theories Greenstreet ( 2004 ) suggests that their value to nurses in pattern prevarication in their effort to explicate and depict responses that are normal and so deduce how nurses can outdo support the bereaved in their attention and recognise those who need extra support.

In decision we have looked at the importance of nurses understanding the facets of loss and heartache and illustrated that this psychosocial facet is prevailing in nursing attention. Grief is something we as nurses will cover with throughout our profession and the more we learn to understand this psychosocial facet we will be in a better place to back up and assist the people in our attention. In the essay we have discussed a figure of theories that can be used as tools in the grieving procedure to assist those affected overcome their loss. Although some theories discussed differ from others they can all be applied to nursing attention and all provide us as nurses with extra cognition in the grieving procedure. These theories can give nurses assurance traveling frontward in lovingness and aid fit them with some cognition in understanding the complicated procedure of loss and heartache. We are non expected to hold all the replies as nurses but we are expected to better ourselves in our profession to guarantee we give the best possible attention we can.

Mentions

Buglass. E. ( 2010 ) Grief and bereavement theories. Nursing Standard. 24 ( 41 ) . 44-47 Dent. A. ( 2005 ) Supporting the bereaved: associating theory to pattern. Healthcare Counselling & A ; Psychotherapy Journal. 5 ( 3 ) . 102-107. Greenstreet. W. ( 2004 ) . Palliative attention nursing. Why nurses need to understand the rules of mourning theory. British Journal of Nursing
. 13 ( 10 ) . 590-593. Kubler-Ross. E. ( 1969 ) . On decease and deceasing. Macmillan: New York. Neimeyer. R. . and Anderson. A. ( 2002 ) Meaning Reconstruction theory in loss and Grief. TN. Memphis. Penson. J. ( 1992 ) Bereavement. a usher for nurses. Chapman and Hall. London. Stroebe. M. And Schut. H. ( 1999 ) . The double procedure theoretical account of get bying with mourning: Rationale and description. Death Studies. 23 ( 3 ) . 197–224.

Weinstein. J. ( 2008 ) Working with loss. decease and mourning: A usher for societal workers. Sage. London. White. P. . and Ferszt. G. ( 2009 ) Exploration of nurse practician pattern with clients who are sorrowing. Journal of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners. 21 ( 4 ) . 231-40. Worden. W. ( 1991 ) . Grief reding and grief therapy. 2nd erectile dysfunction. Springer printing. New York. Worden. W. ( 2002 ) . Grief guidance and heartache therapy. 3rd erectile dysfunction. Springer publication: New York. Wright. B. ( 2007 ) Loss and heartache: Skills for caring. M & A ; K Ltd. Leeds.