How Do You Help Your Patients Feel Empowered?

[Frances Shani Parker]

Being diagnosed as terminally ill and given an estimate of six months to live can be 

very traumatic for many patients. Some who were normally confident and proactive in their demeanor can feel their self-esteem slipping away with each passing day. Hospice staff can play a huge role in helping patients maintain their dignity and independence 

as much as they can. These reassurances encourage patients to feel empowered.

How empowering does it feel to lie awake in bed while several unidentified people in 

the room hold a conversation? What about having little or no choice in the clothes 

they wear, the food they eat, the places they go? Aren’t many terminally ill patients still
capable of making decisions? Should family and staff have all the power all the time? 

Or should they have a partnership with patients? How do you help your patients feel empowered?

Frances Shani Parker, Author

"Becoming Dead Right: A Hospice Volunteer in Urban Nursing Homes”
http://www.amazon.com/Becoming-Dead-Right-Hospice-Volunteer/dp/1932690352/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1198336562&sr=1-1

“Hospice and Nursing Homes Blog” 

http://hospiceandnursinghomes.blogspot.com/

 

 

[brittany bennett]

I ask them to control their day according to their schedule. So if they want me to do something I do it on their time schedule. Seems to put some control in ther lives.

[Frances Shani Parker]

Thanks for sharing that suggestion.