Celebrate death this week

Villa Maria Berwick division one nurse, Kylie Maddern, admits she is sometimes afraid of dying, but will always remain passionate about palliative care nursing.

Ms Maddern, 32, (pictured) was recently awarded a Victorian government post-graduate palliative care scholarship to undertake her post-graduate diploma in nursing (cancer and palliative care) at Melbourne University this year.

The empathetic nurse aims to “normalise” death and help residents in palliative care understand that “they are going to be okay”.

“I’ve cared for people who have fought for our country and paid taxes all of their lives…I really want to make sure they have the dignity and respect they deserve as they near their final days,” Ms Maddern tells DPS News.

She is just one nurse who will be celebrated and acknowledged for their challenging work as part of National Palliative Care Week, which began yesterday (Sunday, 20 May 2012).

Villa Maria has a variety of palliative care initiatives, from pain management programs to pastoral care, which have been rolled out to ensure older residents receive the best quality of care in the latter stages of their lives.

In particular, Advanced Care Planning (ACP) and the End of Life Care Pathway program are important aspects of the palliative approach to care at Villa Maria. Both programs are used to identify residents’ future health care wishes before they become too unwell to communicate. These wishes may include aspects relating to spiritual, religious or cultural needs and medications.

Whether it be moving a resident’s’ chair so they can feel the “winter sun on their face” or offering them adequate pain relief, Ms Maddern believes “death should be celebrated” as it is in some other cultures.

Dedicating more than a decade of her life to the aged care industry, starting out as a personal care assistant as a teenager, Ms Maddern admits she will never be able to stop caring for older people.

 “It’s such a fulfilling job. If you give them a clean towel, they think you’re the best in the world and are so appreciative; and it breaks my heart to know we live in a society where aged care is a second thought.

“I cry every time someone passes away; but that’s what nursing is. We’re human beings and we do have feelings and we do hard work….I just hope to make a difference someday.”

Are you afraid of death? Share your thoughts on end-of-life care planning by commenting in the box below.