Cases: Pain vs. Sufffering and the Role of the Pastoral Care

Discussion:  This was a process that was not resolved as in our modern media. The resolution was assisted by others in the Palliative Care Team, the Transplant Team, Unit Staff, Pastoral Care, Providence, and, of vital importance, her family members who realized her mortality and took ownership of her suffering and their contribution to the dysfunction in their household. In many of the rooms of the hospital are laminated Comparative Pain Scales with 1 being expressed as smiling demonstrating 'No Pain' to 10 being 'Unbearable/Excruciating Pain'. Modern technology addresses this pain well. Suffering of the soul, mind, psyche, whatever terminology you are comfortable with, also needs to be addressed with awareness and compassion. Everyone should participate. According to Thomas R. Egnew, “Suffering arises from perceptions of a threat to the integrity of personhood, relates to the meaning patients ascribe to their illness experience, and is conveyed as an intensely personal narrative.” While the medical community has established procedures, protocols, and treatment plans that factor in typical emotional responses, suffering is personal, individual and commonly expressed as a narrative that needs the freedom and respect to be presented and the dignity to be acted on to reestablish meaning and significance. Pastoral Care is one piece of the solution, but by far, not the only piece in total patient care. References: 1. Mayo Clinic on Chronic Pain; Mayo Foundation fo...
Source: Pallimed: A Hospice and Palliative Medicine Blog - Category: Palliative Carer Workers Authors: Source Type: blogs