Terminology
This term refers to an illness that cannot be cured and is expected to result in death within a relatively short period of time.
What is a terminal illness?
This class of medications is commonly used as the first line of treatment for moderate to severe pain in palliative care patients.
What are opioid medications?
This intervention in end-of-life care involves regularly adjusting the position of patients to prevent pressure injuries, ensure comfort, and maintain skin integrity.
What is turning or repositioning?
This term refers to the medical sign indicating impending death, characterized by a bluish or purplish discoloration of the skin, particularly in the extremities, due to decreased circulation.
What is cyanosis?
This strategy focuses on providing comfort and support to patients through attentive listening, empathy, and presence.
What is therapeutic communication?
This term focuses on improving the quality of life for patients and their families facing the problems associated with life-threatening illness.
What is palliative care?
Class of medications that helps manage anxiety, agitation, and insomnia in palliative care.
What are benzodiazepines?
A complementary therapy commonly used by nurses in palliative care to provide emotional support and promote relaxation through the use of music, rhythm, and sound.
What is music therapy?
In the final stages of dying, this physical sign indicates reduced alertness and responsiveness.
What is decreased level of consciousness?
This vital aspect of palliative care involves the exchange of patient information, treatment plans, and care goals among healthcare team members to ensure comprehensive and coordinated support.
What is interdisciplinary communication?
This is the term for care provided by a multidisciplinary team to manage symptoms and provide support to patients and their families during the end stages of a terminal illness.
Hospice Care
Class of medications that is commonly used in palliative care to manage symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, and appetite stimulation.
What are antiemetics?
This intervention is often utilized in end-of-life care to relieve pain, which involves applying heat or cold packs to areas of discomfort.
What is hot and/or cold therapy?
A physical sign commonly observed during the final stages of dying, indicating impending death, characterized by patchy skin discoloration due to poor circulation.
What is mottling of the skin?
In palliative care, this collaborative practice involves regular meetings among healthcare professionals to coordinate patient care and provide comprehensive support.
What are interdisciplinary team meetings or care conferences?
This term is used for the medical order that specifies a patient's preference to forgo cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in the event of cardiac or respiratory arrest.
What is a do-not-resuscitate (DNR) or allow natural death (AND) order?
An adjuvant medication commonly used to enhance the effectiveness of pain relief, particularly effective for nerve pain.
What is gabapentin or pregabalin?
This complementary therapy utilizes essential oils to induce relaxation, ease anxiety, and alleviate symptoms like pain and nausea.
What is aromatherapy?
This term describes the physical sign commonly observed during the final stages of dying, indicating impending death, characterized by an accumulation of saliva and mucus in the airways.
What are terminal respiratory secretions or death rattle?
In end-of-life care, this communication approach centers on delving into patients' values, beliefs, and preferences regarding their care and treatment decisions.
What is exploring goals of care?
This term describes a medical condition that has progressed beyond its initial stages, often presenting with complex symptoms and requiring specialized care, with the prognosis usually indicating a limited life expectancy.
What is an advanced illness?
This approach involves combining pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions to address pain from physical, psychological, social, and spiritual perspectives.
What is a multimodal approach?
A non-pharmacological intervention commonly utilized to manage symptoms such as pain, anxiety, and dyspnea through visualization and mental imagery.
What is guided imagery?
This breathing patterns commonly observed during the final stages of dying, characterized by periods of shallow or irregular breathing followed by periods of no breathing.
What is Cheyne-Stokes breathing or agonal breathing?
This communication approach in end-of-life care focuses on validating patients' experiences and emotions, acknowledging their suffering, and offering comfort.
What is providing empathetic responses?