Coping with the Facts of Life and Death
Death is part of life and everyone will have to deal with it sometime. Dead bodies are actually the easy part. Telling someone they're going to die or holding their loved ones while they cry can be much more difficult. After a lengthy, painful illness, death is usually a relief, but the loss is still difficult. Sudden and unexpected death adds a whole new dimension to the situation.
Helping someone to come to grips with his own impending death or the loss of a loved one is not easy, but it can be very rewarding when peaceful acceptance is achieved. It can also be very rewarding to watch someone slip away quietly and peacefully when you know that his pain and suffering were minimized and that he was surrounded by loved ones.
You will not enter the health care field fully prepared for all of the possible unknown factors. You will not enter fully prepared for each and every situation. You are a warm, caring, passionate individual, and that is why you will make a terrific health care professional. You will learn the skills and develop the talents necessary to help you deal with the situations that you will face. You will learn how to cope. Health care is a lifelong learning experience.
Are health care workers born knowing how to deal with these issues?
There are those who have such a strong sense of curiosity about blood, guts, and gore that they have no problem with them, but for others the ability to deal with these things must be learned. The passion to help others and to ease their pain and suffering drives you to learn to find ways to handle all of this.
