PSYC290N - Lifespan Development REFLECTION ASSIGNMENT Required Resources Read/review the following resources for this activity: Textbook: Chapter 20 (Attached below with APA formatted book reference f
Week 8 Lesson: Death, Dying and Grieving
Lesson: End of Life
How we approach death through practice, planning and memorial are all factors in how we attend to those who need care at the end of their lives. Medical professionals are the frontline when it is time for the difficult but necessary discussion around death. In many Western cultures, our approach to death can appear almost stoic when compared to some Eastern cultures in which a person’s death is surrounded by ceremony, food, and family. If you come from a collectivistic culture in which the focus is on the “good of the group,” you may find your home filled with friends and relatives for 2 months after the passing of a loved one. The very thought of this may be off-putting for someone from a more individualistic culture in which the focus may be more on finding balance in one’s life after losing the loved one.
Regardless of how a person’s culture manages death, grief is largely based on the individual, their personality, life experiences, etc. Our text talks about the five stages of grief being denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. Some grief therapists contend that if a person isn’t grieving properly, they may get “stuck” in a stage of grief. Our readings suggest that religion, effective support systems, and family and friends can help us manage grief and move from a stage of denial to acceptance.
Our textbook also covers the cultural variations and historical circumstances surrounding this topic and why it can be so controversial for us to have a civil discourse on the subject. As you read through the assigned chapters, ask yourself these difficult and personal questions:
What are some strategies for communication with a dying person, and how can I teach these strategies to my patients’ loved ones?
What is the nature of grieving?
What are the forms of mourning covered in your textbook?
How is making sense of the world beneficial to the outcome of grieving?
Determining Death
Euthanasia: “easy death”: is the act of painlessly ending the lives of individuals who are suffering from an incurable disease of severe disability.
Passive: occurs when a person is allowed to die by withholding available treatment, such as withdrawing a life-sustaining device. For example, this might involve turning off a respirator or a heart-lung machine.
Active: occurs when death is deliberately induced, as when a lethal dose of a drug is injected.
Assisted Suicide: Requires a patient to self-administer the lethal medication, and the patient is allowed to decide when and where to do this.
Brain death: A neurological definition of death. A person is brain dead when all electrical activity of the brain has ceased for a specified period of time. A flat EEG recording is one criterion of brain death.
Discussing options for determining death can be difficult, especially when we must make these decisions for our loved ones. But as medical professionals, we should understand the differences.