i have lots of patients who are in hospice care and some are in comfort care. one of them stayed only in hospice care because they do not want any grief counselling and put her in comfort care. they want us to keep the patient as comfortable as possible but she should have all the meds she needed as well labs but DNR, no hospitalizations even in ER. i tried to ask them what they understand between the 2 but, they could not tell. I tried to tell them the difference but they wanted all medications to be restarted.they wanted her to join the activities as tolerated, don't like roxanol but like to give morphine. questions regarding medication but only talked to the admissions not nurses, doctors or social workers. what is the better way for them to understand what these do cares mean?

To me - comfort measures means to keep the patient as comfortable as possible ( with medication, if need be) but no other heroic measures. It means there is nothing else that can be done for the patient. Labs? what's the point? In a nursing home where I worked, the patient was on a feeding tube with comfort measures. The family asked to have the feedings stopped. (they never visited-I suspected they wanted her to hurry up and die). The MD gave the order to stop the feedings. I think this was so cruel. I couldn't watch her lay there and literally starve to death. I always gave her something when she was in my care. I think some other nurses did too. (Maybe that's why she hung on for so long) I still can't believe a family would do this to a loved one. christianwoman: it sounds like your patient's family does not want to give up even tho they made her a DNR. It's kinda like a SLOW CODE in the hospital-make some effort, but not much.

most patients I've seen on comfort measures are not able to get out of bed much less attend therapy or activities. Therapy and labwork for a patient on comfort measures only.? It doesn't sound right! this patient doesn't sound she's on her last leg (so to speak). What's going on here?