End-of-life caring and the informal caregiver
Pervell Dunbar
University of North Georgia, USA
: J Nurs Patient Care
Abstract
Caring of patients at end-of-life can be quite daunting to the caregiver. Patients’ psycho-social and spiritual needs are sometimes neglected in the healthcare setting. Transitioning patients from healthcare facilities to home with care being given by informal caregivers can be overwhelming. It requires a comprehensive and prioritized array of relevant and coordinated community resources. A review of researched documents established that informal caregivers who provide care and assistance do so with few supportive services. The purpose of this paper is to create an environment of care that gives solace to those who are in various stages of grieving, while educating the community through supportive care provided to informal caregivers. The social change proposed here is to bring awareness to society that informal caregivers are irreplaceable; it goes beyond family love, there is simply not enough money or workers that can replace that bond of caring. Jean Watson’s Caring Model is appropriate for this presentation.
Biography
Pervell Dunbar hails from Kingston Jamaica. In 1967, she received a scholarship to study at the Hastings School of Nursing in Sussex, England and graduated in 1970. In 1972, she completed her midwifery studies in Dumfries, Scotland. She continued her pursuit of nursing advancement and excellence in the US, graduated in 1999 with a BS in Nursing Administration from Barry University in Miami. She obtained MBA degree in Health Management from the University of Phoenix in 2002 and in 2008, she completed her MSN at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton. Finally, being a life-long lover of learning, she received her Doctorate in Nursing Practice from Walden University in 2015; her published paper was “Nursing Care for Terminal Patients in Intensive Care Units.” Noting the gap in communication and compassion among her peers while caring for patients at end of life or with chronic conditions, she felt she could best influence change and make a difference by getting enhanced qualifications. In her professional career she has worked over thirty years clinically and administratively, with patients of all ages with a focus mainly in Emergency medicine and Intensive Care nursing, and Gerontology.
