The Ahospice nurse has revealed what she believes is the "hardest" part about taking care of critically ill patients in a TikTok video.
The video, posted by Julie McFadden on her "HospicenersJulie" page, has been viewed over 100,000 times and at the time of writing had garnered over 8,300 likes.
McFadden has been working as a hospice nurse for more than five years and regularly posts information about her job and end-of-life care on her social media accounts to raise awareness of the dying process. Is.
"I've seen hundreds of deaths and here's the hardest part—the terminal movement," she said in the video.
"What does it look like? Exactly what it sounds like. So, this is someone who is usually non-verbal, can't really talk but is restless and agitated—constantly getting out of bed, constantly moving around, constantly talking about things." Pulling up, looking irritated, looking agitated."
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According to Marie Curie, an end of life charity based in the United Kingdom, some critically ill patients experience agitation at the end of their lives.
McFadden told MahriyaNews that he estimates that about 30 percent of terminally ill patients experience terminal agitation at some point.
"Some diagnoses experience it more often than others, and I see it more in younger patients," she said.
Terminal agitation occurs in the last few days of life and can often be characterized by restlessness, restlessness, and changes in the patient's behavior.
According to Marie Curie, signs and symptoms may include distressing behavior; confusion; inability to feel settled; calling, groaning, shouting or screaming; hallucinations; Trying to get out of bed or wander off; rambling conversations; And extravagance, among other things.
McFadden said health care workers try and determine if something is aggravating the patient. Agitation can be caused by drugs, psychological factors or the condition of the patient itself.
"First, you assess if something is causing it. Do they have pain? Do they have urinary retention? If you don't find anything in your assessment, it's potentially terminal movement—and several There are different drugs that we can use and decrease," he told MahariyaNews.
Sometimes medication is needed to sedate the person to calm them down or even put them to sleep.
"We usually have to give the person strong medication to keep them safe and not provoke them," she said in the video. "Sometimes when we sed them they are awake and less agitated. Sometimes they are either awake and agitated or are asleep and not. So, we have to keep them asleep."