Dying with Dignity

Course overview

This educational activity is credited for 2.5 hours upon completion. Human dignity is the core of nursing. It manifests when a nurse respects a patient when providing care. The nurse must provide care to the dying patient and their family members that conforms with cultural beliefs and habits. Because death is an unavoidable phenomenon that everyone will experience regardless of health care that is provided, human dignity with respect to end-of-life care must be appreciated. Helping terminally ill patients and their families manage decisions regarding death is a central responsibility of nursing, and it is essential that nurses be given better tools with which to deliver spiritual care. The nurse must provide dignified, spiritually astute (outside of the religious realm), comprehensive care to the dying patient to allow death with dignity to occur.