Hospital Care for Seriously Ill Patients and Their Families

Abstract

Mrs Morton was an 82-year-old woman with ovarian cancer metastatic to the lung, liver, and peritoneum with massive ascites diagnosed 1 year ago. She had undergone many cycles of chemotherapy but stopped chemo several months ago due to progression of disease and increasing fatigue. Mrs Morton was living at home with her daughter, son-in-law, and three grandchildren. A few days earlier, she had stopped eating and drinking. She became sleepier and spent all of her time in bed. On the morning of admission, Mrs Morton's daughter awoke to find that her mother was not able to speak or even open her eyes and was moaning and breathing fast. Feeling panicked, her daughter called 911. The ambulance arrived within a few minutes. They found Mrs Morton hypotensive, tachypneic, tachycardic, hypoxic, and in respiratory distress. They asked about advance directives, but were told that Mrs Morton had not completed one. They started an IV, gave fluids, administered oxygen, and rushed Mrs Morton to the hospital.On arrival in the emergency department, the emergency physician and nurse asked the family, "Would you like us to do everything possible?" Her family responded, "Yes," as virtually anyone would to this question. The emergency physician called the hospitalist on call STAT to the emergency department to admit Mrs Morton and notified the intensive care unit that she would soon be on her way up.

Prevalence and determinants of secondary posttraumatic growth following trauma work among medical personnel: a cross sectional study

“…Many researchers note the importance of job satisfaction as a factor that promotes SPTG among professionals working with trauma victims (Arnold et al, 2005 ; Calhoun & Tedeschi, 2013 ; Gibbons, Murphy, & Joseph, 2011 ; Pantilat, Anderson, Gonzales, & Widera, 2015 ). Nevertheless, it should be highlighted that little research has been conducted in this area.…”