부산대학교 도서관

This article describes the hospice nursing experience for a breast cancer patient to cope with the sense of hopelessness at the terminal stage. The rapid disease progression caused the patient to experience negative emotions, apathy, and suicide attempt. Patient data were collected through observation, listening, interviews to assess her physical, psychological, social and spiritual issues from February 11 to March 1 in 2014. Three health problems were identified including ineffective airway clearance, pain, and desperation. We provided the patient and her family guidance on the correct cough skill, positional drainage, chest percussion, oxygenation supplement, pain assessment, medication regulation, position adjustment, music therapy and aromatherapy to alleviate ineffective airway clearance as well as pain. By means of establishing mutual trust therapeutic relationship, team companionship and communication, message interpretation, and life reflections, we reaffirmed the patient’s meaning of life and reconstructed the hope to achieve good death. We suggested palliative consult and professional reference who can deliver more information on hospice care so the patient and her families could understand hospice care and improve the quality of care in the end of life. We hope our experience can be shared as a reference to guide future hospice care of similar cases.