Palative care in Canada

[Guest guest]

Dr. Shane SinclairSpiritual Care Services, Tom Baker Cancer Centre, 1331-29 St.

NW, Calgary AB, T2N 4N2. E-mail shane.sinclair@...

Background: : Working within the landscape of death and dying, professionals in

palliative and hospice care provide insight into the nature of mortality that

may be of benefit to individuals facing the end of life. Much less is known

about how these professionals incorporate these experiences into their personal

lives and clinical practices.

Methods: : This ethnographic inquiry used semi-structured interviews and

participant observation to elicit an in-depth understanding of the impact of

death and dying on the personal lives of national key leaders (n = 6) and

frontline clinicians (n = 24) involved in end-of-life care in Canada. Analysis

of findings occurred in the field through constant comparative method and member

checking, with more formal levels of analysis occurring after the

data-collection phase.

Results: : Eleven specific themes, organized under three overarching categories

(past, present and future), were discovered. Early life experiences with death

were a common and prominent feature, serving as a major motivator in

participants' career path of end-of-life care. Clinical exposure to death and

dying taught participants to live in the present, cultivate a spiritual life,

reflect on their own mortality and reflect deeply on the continuity of life.

Interpretation: : Participants reported that their work provided a unique

opportunity for them to discover meaning in life through the lessons of their

patients, and an opportunity to incorporate these teachings in their own lives.

Although Western society has been described as a " deathdenying " culture, the

participants felt that their frequent exposure to death and dying was largely

positive, fostering meaning in the present and curiosity about the continuity of

life.

http://www.cmaj.ca/cgi/content/abstract/cmaj.100511v1

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FYI,

Lottie Duthu

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