I closed the door behind me to keep out the florescent lighting and beeping monitors and chatting of the nurses. But with the closing of the door, I also kept out the sounds of the living. The intern had been right. I inwardly cursed him and every horror movie I had seen to date.
I cursed my reptilian brain for its very strong impulse to back away from the bed. I watched seconds tick by on the clock. Finally, a combination of embarrassment and obligation kicked in. I was called for x, so I did y. Then I left the room and did z. I called the primary provider. I filled out the death certificate. Physical presence or absence was irrelevant, I realized.
I felt like a stethoscope-wielding technician who offered stock condolences. Their explicitness is exactly what a new intern needs. But pre-determination does not preclude meaning. To my first pronounced patient: your time of death was five minutes earlier. This extract explores issues about improvements in health care, and our expectation of a longer life. Sudden, brutal death; and so many deaths, at one time. As a society, we're starting to look death in its hollow eyesockets and pull it into the light.
But how scared do we remain of death - and is it healthy to have a bit of anxiety when staring into the great beyond? Jonathan Jong explores. We invite you to discuss this subject, but remember this is a public forum. Please be polite, and avoid your passions turning into contempt for others.
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If the hospital has security guards and particularly if the doctor is expecting trouble, they may be summoned and asked to stand unobtrusively in the background. Few doctors believe that guards will be of much use in an altercation. The first few times a doctor has to convey death, she may rehearse what she has to say but over time, she develops a stump speech of sorts.
A sudden, unexpected death after admission comes as a shock to both family and doctor. All you can do is tell them the truth; that we did everything we could but there was no way we could foresee it. A doctor may identify the decision-maker of the family, or a potential trouble-maker, and speak to him first. The average patient at a public hospital is unlikely to understand the intricacies of the progress of disease and of medicine.
Language is another barrier. With medical colleges admitting resident doctors from other states and hospitals admitting patients from other linguistic territories, a colleague or a nurse has to act as interpreter.
Work pressures may affect how much effort is put into the conversation. Share your perspective on this article with a post on ScrollStack, and send it to your followers. That will allow them to plan so you can have the appropriate time with the body. Some families want time to sit quietly with the body, console each other, and maybe share memories. You could ask a member of your religious community or a spiritual counselor to come.
If you have a list of people to notify, this is the time to call those who might want to come and see the body before it is moved. As soon as possible, the death must be officially pronounced by someone in authority like a doctor in a hospital or nursing facility or a hospice nurse.
This person also fills out the forms certifying the cause, time, and place of death. These steps will make it possible for an official death certificate to be prepared. This legal form is necessary for many reasons, including life insurance and financial and property issues.
If the person was in hospice , a plan for what happens after death will already be in place. If death happens at home without hospice, try to talk with the doctor, local medical examiner coroner , your local health department, or a funeral home representative in advance about how to proceed.
You can also consider a home funeral, which is legal in most states. Arrangements should be made to pick up the body as soon as the family is ready and according to local laws. This can be done by a funeral home or by the family themselves in most states. The hospital or nursing facility, if that is where the death took place, may help with these arrangements.
If at home, you will need to contact the funeral home directly, make arrangements yourself, or ask a friend or family member to do that for you.
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