Coping with a 'bad' death

Caring for a dying patient helped me to appreciate the value of life
On a first-year placement, I helped to care for a woman with terminal cancer. She was in the final stages of the disease and, although she was aware of her diagnosis, she had not been told how long she had left to live.

Coming to terms with an unpeaceful death
Once she had come to terms with a patient's unpeaceful death, nursing student Carley Vaudrey found greater confidence in her practice.

Communication failure prevented a patient dying with dignity
Communication and documentation failure meant that a retired nurse could not die with dignity.

Coping with the unexpected death of a child
The death of a child took an adult nursing student by surprise, until the charge nurse helped put her reaction into perspective.

Dying wish should have been taken seriously
Student nurse, Chantelle Cox decided that she would never let the indifference of others override her instinct to do all she can during end of life care.

Rapid deterioration brought home importance of basic observations
During a clinical placement in my second year of training, I was working on a surgical ward when an older male patient was admitted to undergo intravenous antibiotic treatment for a urine infection.

Seeing a dead body helped me deal with mother's illness
Seeing her first dead body has helped one nursing student face the reality of her mother's terminal illness.

You can only do your best
Real life is not like Holby City , but I realise that I did my best, says student nurse Carrie Dougherty.