Beaumont Hospital Palliative
Care Study Day
Grief and the Healthcare Worker
Pauline King
Staff Counsellor
Beaumont Hospital
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“No matter what we
might do to make it
easier,
death remains the
ultimate separation,
the ultimate
unknown.”
Michael Kearney, M.D.
The cost of caring
without awareness

Compassion Fatigue

Burnout



Emotional Exhaustion
Depersonalisation
Impact on professional efficacy
Factors Affecting Professional Grief
Personal Perspective
-Beliefs values assumptions about
self, others, life.
-Personal Loss-history
-Realization of Personal Mortality
Experiencing
Grief
Meaning making &
Loss transcendence
Relationship with
Patient
-Special Bond
- Identification with
family member
- Sympathy for family
Avoiding
Or repressing
Grief
Professional Perspective
- Unit’s goals, values, assumptions re care
in illness, dying & death.
-Inadequate time with dying patients due
to workload
-Wanting to give every patient a good
death
Adapted from the work of Dr Danai Papadatou
RIVER OF INTEGRATION
RIGIDITY
flow of integration
CHAOS
Exercise

Of the things I do and take in what nourishes me?

Of the things I do and take in what depletes me?


What are the activities I engage in, that are not
necessarily pleasant but when I have completed them
there is a good feeling, a sense of “mastery”
Accepting that there are some aspects of my life that I
simply cannot change, how can I increase the time I
choose nurturing activities and limit those that deplete
me?
Foundations of Mindfulness

1. Patience

2. Trust

3. Beginner’s mind/curiosity

4. Non Striving

5. Acceptance

6. Non Judgement

7. Letting go
Mindfulness means paying attention, on purpose, in the present
moment and without judgement. Jon Kabat-Zinn.
3 Step sequence:
Acknowledge, Gather, Expand (AGE).
Mindful moment with
Thich Nhat Hanh
“ We are related to one
another.
by taking care
of you I take care of myself.
By taking care of myself I take care of
you.
Happiness and safety are not individual
matters”
References







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Cohen-Katz, J. et al (2005) The effects of Mindfulness
based stress reduction on nurse stress and burnout.
Epstein RM. Mindful Practice, JAMA, 1992, 282(9): 833839
Halifax, J (2001) Journal of Pain and Symptom
Management. Vol 41, No 1, Jan 2011
Kabat-Zinn, Full Catastrophe Living: How to Cope with
Stress, Pain and Illness using Mindfulness Meditation.
Ludwig DS, Kabat-Zinn J. Mindfulness in Medicine, JAMA,
2008, 300 (11): 1350-1352.
Santorelli, Saki (2000), Heal Thy Self.
Siegel, Daniel (2011) Mindsight: Transform your Brain
with the New Science of Kindness.
www.Mindplatter.com