A private nurse can ease difficult conversations in the family when illness or death is near.
Long-term illness and death suddenly make it all more important to be open with each other. Because there may not be much more time to say everything you wanted to say. And then you might regret never trying when you die. Or you are left as a relative with a feeling of what could have been.
But many families find it hard to have those difficult conversations. It may be because of stubbornness or pride. But it may also be because, in the name of love, you don’t want to hurt your loved ones. Here, a third party can resolve the conversation. Private nurses from Privat Sygeplejerske ApS can mediate because they know the problems of both patients and relatives.
As a private nurse, I often become the facilitator for difficult conversations. I also get to talk to their children, spouses and other close relatives
Mai Jørgensen is a private nurse at Privat Sygeplejerske ApS and takes care of elderly palliative patients. Previously, she worked for 7 years as an intensive care nurse at Rigshospitalet.
Conversations about medicine and nursing homes
For example, it may be difficult for the patient to talk about if they no longer want to take their medication. It may also be that the relatives can no longer cope with the care and are considering placing the patient in a nursing home or private 24-hour care.
“I can get them to talk about it because, as a third party, I can ask what the patient and relatives want and why,” Mai Jørgensen says.
For example, she had a patient who didn’t want any more medication. But she hadn’t told relatives. Here the dialogue created a greater understanding among the relatives.
When death is near
In Mai Jørgensen’s experience, many relatives appreciate the confidential space she can create as a private nurse in North Zealand.
For example, she had a terminal patient who was dying. His children, who lived further away, lived there in the last few days. Here she was a mediator for the family to talk about life and death in a different way.
“We also talked about the relatives’ own lives. I think many relatives are happy about this because it helps them to talk about how they feel in the situation,” Mai Jørgensen says. She concludes: “Nursing care is as much about care and communication as it is about pain relief.”
