Problem
Explain how you would handle these difficult conversations and tend to the patients' spiritual and emotional needs. Make sure to cite any sources outside of your textbook.
A. You are on scene with a 50 year old patient who just died of breast cancer. It was expected and she had a DNR, however the 25 year old daughter is visibly upset. She mentions that every female in her family has died of the disease around the same age, and she is afraid that she, and more importantly her young daughter, might suffer the same fate.
B. You are transporting an 85 year old male to a rehab center after he fell. During the transport, he mentions that his age is catching up with him and he is considering getting a living will and DNR order while his mind still works. He asks for your advice "off the record" on DNR orders. He mentions that his wife suffered from a very difficult resuscitation with almost an hour of CPR and then spent months on life support before dying.
C. You are called to an office building with an out of service elevator. Your patient is a 35 year old very obese man, who had to walk up 6 flights of stairs and had an episode of chest pain and shortness of breath. After carrying him down the stairs and initiating transport, the patient remarks that his parents fed him fast food almost every day, and he associates fast food and sweets with comfort. He also mentions that he works all day on his computer and gets very little activity due to a long drive to and from work. He is visibly upset and looking to you for some sort of comfort.