STAGES OF GRIEF FROM A NURSING PERSPECTIVE: ROUND 1
According to the Kubler-Ross model, there are 5 stages of grief… Here I will explain these 5 stages from a nurse’s perspective.
1. Denial – “I can’t lose this patient now.” You’ve spent countless hours monitoring labs, vitals, and ventilator settings. You’ve told the family you feel confident their loved one will pull through. You’ve seen the patient go from non-responsive while off sedation to a hand squeeze during your morning assessment. There’s no way you’re going to lose them now.
2. Anger – “It’s not fair that this patient has cancer!” Why is it that this father of 2 young children is now dying while the patient next door, who has made countless poor life choices, is going to make a full recovery after driving drunk and running straight into a pole?
3. Bargaining – “PLEASE let this round of CPR work and I promise never to ignore a call light alarm ever again!” We all want to be a better nurse. But some things are just out of control and there is no amount of education, titration, or oxygenation that can change the course for some patients. No matter how much we try to fix things for our patients.
4. Depression – You’ve had a decent shift, nothing crazy. Feeling fine. Then get into the car to drive home and begin to cry. At first you can’t figure out why…until you remember the patient who died 2 weeks prior, just after you helped her bathe and assured her everything would be fine. She would soon be home with her family. But she wasn’t – because she died.
5. Acceptance – Unfair things happen, even to good people. People die, even those whom you’ve worked so hard to help. They’ve become more than just patients to you. However, you’ve chosen to be a nurse and have been blessed enough to make an impact on many, many people’s lives. All you can do is your best!
Thank you to every nurse who has put his or her feelings and emotions (or full bladder) aside in order to help a patient! You are amazing.
However, please don’t forget to set time aside to take care of yourself. You’re only as helpful as your mental status allows you to be.
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Jaymie Wilson, MSN, APRN-CNP, ACHPN
Vice President of Operations, PDC Rx