Essay on Self-Directed Clinical Activity #1

Discussion of Care of Terminally Ill Children

Terminally ill children require specialized care because despite the effort the healthcare providers may put in the treatment, they may not be able to cure them. Some of the strategies that one should consider while caring for this set of patients include meeting their needs based on their age (Pinto Taylor et al., 2020). For instance, while caring for a toddler, one should give them toys appropriate for their age. Ideally, it is essential to allow these children to continue their normal activities, including schooling for school-going children (Pinto Taylor et al., 2020). It is also important to encourage older children to set short-term goals and maintain any meaningful relationship in their lives. Caregivers should also ensure that children can freely discuss their feelings and express their fears and concerns without feeling like a burden (Pinto Taylor et al., 2020). However, despite specialized care accorded to terminally ill children across all ages, the caregivers should avoid being lenient when setting limits on their behaviors and treating them normally. Most of these issues may cause strain between the caregiver and the family members. Nevertheless, it is always important to educate them on the importance of allowing the child to progress with life normally.

As mentioned earlier in this discussion, some terminally ill children may never recover, which means they have a limited amount of time to live. Therefore, the caregivers need to discuss death with them. Nevertheless, it is vital to understand that not all children may understand the concept of death (Pinto Taylor et al., 2020). For instance, preschool children may have no understanding of death, especially its permanency. However, schooling going children and adolescents may better comprehend the situation (Pinto Taylor et al., 2020). For this reason, the caregiver should choose the best approach to communicate with the child. In some cases, the child may consent for the end of life, which caregivers should discuss with the parents or guardians of the patient in question.

Discussion of Care of the Pediatric Surgical Patient

Pediatric surgical patient care is the nursing care given to children between 0-15 years old presented with surgical issues. The care for these young ones may be challenging considering they have peculiar social, physical, psychological, and emotional needs (Zhu et al., 2017). Additionally, most of these patients cannot offer necessary history and clues that would assist in evaluating and managing their medical condition (Zhu et al., 2017). Prior to the surgery, the healthcare provider should use simpler terms to communicate the cause of the illness, signs, mode of acquisition, and the need for early hospital care (Zhu et al., 2017). School-age and adolescent pediatric patients may understand what is going on, but they require the help of healthcare providers to internalize the entire process. Therefore, it is essential to inform them what to expect pre-and post-operation.

It is also essential to prioritize inter-disciplinary communication during the perioperative period. Studies have shown that inter-disciplinary communication improves patient and family outcomes, leading to a shorter stay in the hospital, symptoms control, and family satisfaction (Zhu et al., 2017). This form of communication also helps different physicians attend to the patient work smoothly, thereby improving their predictive and diagnostic abilities (Zhu et al., 2017). Ideally, this is beneficial to the patient because, in case of any eventuality, the medical professionals would work together to develop a fast solution, thereby reducing any medical error. For example, a patient may develop internal bleeding after an operation. Effective inter-disciplinary communication would help physicians create a solution to stop the patient without putting the patient’s life at risk. Such incidents would be fatal without effective communication since the ward physician may not understand the cause of the bleeding.

References

Pinto Taylor, E., & Doolittle, B. (2020). Caregiver Decision-Making for Terminally Ill Children: A Qualitative Study. Journal of palliative care, 35(3), 161-166. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0825859719885947

Zhu, A., Benzon, H. A., & Anderson, T. A. (2017). Evidence for the efficacy of systemic opioid-sparing analgesics in pediatric surgical populations: a systematic review. Anesthesia & Analgesia, 125(5), 1569-1587. https://doi.org/10.1213/ANE.0000000000002434