Palliative Care

by Christina Faull, Kerry Blankley

Overview

The care of patients with advanced and terminal illness can be extremely rewarding but often causes professionals a considerable amount of discomfort. This is especially so when you feel under confident in your abilities to provide a high quality of symptom management and relief from distress and to communicate appropriately with patients. Patients with advanced disease present some of the most challenging ethical, physical, psychological and social issues to clinicians and indeed to society. Patients need us to be knowledgeable, skilful and understanding. The fully revised and updated new edition of Palliative Care outlines the fundamental principles and facts which will enable you to make a very real difference to your patients and their families. Information is provided in an accessible, user-friendly way and covers a wide range of physical and non-physical symptom management. Multi-professional team work is addressed, as is the role and support of families. There is also a consideration of the dilemmas and decisions that may be encountered by doctors around the end of a patient's life. This practical resource, designed to provoke contemplative professional development, and enhance learning will be essential reading for nursing and medical practitioners, and other professionals who support patients in their homes, in care homes, and in hospital.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780191006807
Publisher:	OUP Oxford
Publication date:	03/19/2015
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	160
File size:	5 MB

About the Author

Christina Faull is Consultant in Palliative Medicine at The Leicestershire and Rutland Hospice (LOROS) and the University Hospitals of Leicester. She is also Honorary Professor of Palliative Medicine, DMU and LOROS Centre for Promotion of Excellence in Palliative Care, de Montfort University, Leicester, UK. Kerry Blankley is Education Facilitator at The Leicestershire and Rutland Hospice (LOROS) and Honorary Lecturer, DMU and LOROS Centre for Promotion of Excellence in Palliative Care, de Montfort University, Leicester, UK.

Table of Contents

1. Palliative Care: Principles, challenges and patient outcomes
2. Palliative care assessment, communication and challenging situations
3. Psycho-social-spiritual components of care
4. Decisions and care around the end of life
5. Physical symptom control: how to do it well
6. The syringe driver
7. Regulations, legal duties and financial benefits for patients
8. Core Competencies in Palliative Care
9. Further information about palliative care services and useful addresses and websites

Editorial Reviews

Reviewer: Darrell Owens, DNP, MSN, MS (University of Washington Medicine)
Description: This is the second edition of a book designed to be a practical resource in palliative care. The first edition was published 14 years ago.
Purpose: The purpose is to provide an updated, practical resource and to provoke contemplative professional development and enhance learning for nursing and medical practitioners in palliative care. The book also aims to appeal to a broad range of leaning styles by presenting information in different ways. While the aims/objectives of the book are certainly worthy, unfortunately, it falls short in meeting these objectives.
Audience: The intended audience is nursing and medical students, as well as those "newly registered in their fields," as well as professionals who support patients in their homes, in care homes, and in hospitals. The authors practice palliative medicine in Great Britain and it is apparent that the book is intended for a British audience. While some general information would apply to U.S. palliative care clinicians, most does not.
Features: The book covers a variety of basic palliative care topics. Some of the topics, such as palliative care assessment and communication and psychosocial and spiritual components of care, although very basic, are relevant to palliative care provided in the U.S. However, chapters dedicated to regulations, legal duties, and financial support, as well as one on the use of a "syringe driver," have little, if any relevance to a U.S. audience. The print is very small, the illustrations are very simplistic, almost child-like. The most useful components of the book are the summary point boxes in each chapter that provide bullet-point information on various topics.
Assessment: As the field of palliative care grows, so, too, does the number of books devoted to it. Unfortunately, this book does not compare to the quality of other books in the field available in the U.S. Because of its British focus, some chapters have no relevance for U.S. palliative care. The illustrations are small and actually distract from the content. This is not a book I can recommend to those in the U.S. looking for a palliative care reference.

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