Answer 2 for PHI 413 Based on your clinical experiences with those who are dying, how have these experiences shaped your view of death and impacted your ability to demonstrate the qualities of empathy?
Beginning my health care career as a nursing assistant introduced and exposed me to medicine and health in a profound way. Not only did I learn that aging and dying was inevitable, but I also learned the impact that these natural processes have on the patient, family, friends, and support staff. Hoehner wrote, “Despite the great strides to alleviate pain and prolong life in even the most serious of illnesses, the death of the body remains one of the central, universal, and inevitable outcomes of life.” (2022). While acutely the dying process seems fast, in long-term care facilities, death can be slow, and frustrating. This was the case with my first experience of death. A patient of mine was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS for short, a debilitating neurogenerative disease that slowly shuts the central nervous system down cell by cell (The ALS Association, 2024). I watched this patient regress from walking independently, to relying on a walker, then a wheelchair, and finally ending up dependent on a ceiling lift over the course of months. When his airway control began to go and he was more reliant on oxygen, we knew death would shortly follow, and it did. As devastating as it was to lose this patient whom I had built strong rapport with, it truly did shape my view of death and the dying process. Patients live entire lives prior to, unfortunately, meeting us at their weakest. This patient was a cattle farmer, veteran, and lover of Alaska. He enjoyed movie night, chocolate ice cream, and watching others play bingo. Learning who our patients are does not stop the dying process nor does it make it any easier, but it reminds us that they are more than a room number, MRN, and statistic. They have lived, loved, lost and deserve to be seen for that in their final moments and this, to me, is the greatest display of empathy.
Hoehner, P. (2023). Chapter 4: Death, Dying, and Grief. BibliU – Reader – Practicing Dignity: An Introduction to Christian Values and Decision Making in Health Care
The ALS Association. (2024). What is ALS? What is ALS? – Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis | The ALS Association
