nursingforsocialjustice

I received a call this morning with bad news. One of my primary clients at work had been fatally injured in an accident on the weekend. It was shocking to hear this. In my mind the client was well. I had spent a lot of time with that client since I started my job last June. I greatly appreciated that my manager thought to inform me. This was the second primary client that has died since I started that position. It makes me feel a little heavy in my heart. It makes me think about the relationships that are built between clinician and client when we enter into a healthcare relationship. When I worked in acute mental health, where patients were admitted and discharged much more frequently, I would maybe learn about the death of a patient/client if it worked its way through the grapevine. The relationship feels different in community based health care programs, especially in a mental health outreach relationship because clients are followed for a long time, sometimes years. Trusting relationships are built with clients. I think this is where it is important to have some rationale detachment.

Peace,

Michelle D.