Assume you work as a nurse in a hospice facility. An elderly patient with whom you have excellent rapport has informed you that she and her adult daughter are estranged. The daughter knows her mother is terminally ill, but has not visited her. The patient cries daily, and yearns to reconcile with her daughter before she dies. What will you do?
You can inform the woman’s physician that she would like to see her daughter. Depending on the situation, you might inform the daughter that her mother would like to see her, but beyond that you can only continue to support the patient.
A dying patient in the hospital where you work as a nurse has informed you and his physician that he wishes to donate his organs after he dies. The patient dies, and his family opposes organ donation. What can be done, if anything, to see that the patient’s wishes are honored?
If the patient has left a signed document stating that he wishes to donate his organs after death, his family cannot legally refuse the request. However, in the interest of public relations, usually in such situations the organs are not recovered.
