Hospice news

Based on findings published in the July 26 issue of the British Medical Journal, the longer a doctor cares for dying patients, the more distressed he or she is after their deaths. However, acknowledgment of the loss and emotional support for these doctors is significantly lacking. Ellen Redinbaugh and colleagues of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute in Pittsburgh conducted a cross-sectional study of 188 physicians who had treated 68 patients who died while being treated. Twenty-one physicians (11 percent) reported feeling very close to the patient, and 139 (74 percent) found the experience of caring for the patient as “satisfying or very satisfying.” Says Dr. Redinbaugh, “They derived satisfaction from helping those patients be comfortable, and if possible, to enable them to spend comfortable and meaningful time with their families. We found that physicians can feel a sense satisfaction in being an important part of this person’s quality of life as they were dying, but at the same time, being very distressed that the person has died, creating a hole in that person’s family,” she added. Roughly one-third of the physicians in the study rated the death as having a strong emotional impact, and this impact was directly related with the length of time they had provided care. Female physicians generally reported more grief symptoms than their male counterparts. The physicians who experienced loss coped primarily by seeking emotional support, keeping busy, and “trying to see the death in a different light to make it seem more positive.” Although many reported that they had received support from colleagues, about one-third reported that their emotional needs were not met. Interestingly, only one physician attended the patient’s funeral. “Physicians recognize that they need to put some closure on their experience,” summarizes Dr. Redinbaugh, but time limitations often prevent this. (Source: Reuters Health News, July 25, 2003.)