Sometimes, as a nursing assistant, you might be present when one of your patients passes away. Call the nurse immediately if you believe the client has passed away in this situation. After establishing the cause of death, you must help with post mortem care nursing.
You could be requested to record the time and the absence of vital signs. A patient’s post-mortem care is crucial when they pass away. Keep reading this blog to find out more about post-mortem care and what it involves.
Post-mortem care nursing procedures
An extensive exterior inspection is the first step in post-mortem care nursing procedures. The body’s weight, height, and distinguishing features like scars and tattoos are all noted. Before the internal examination, a Y-shaped incision extends from both shoulders to the sternum and the pubic bone.
The next step is to separate the subcutaneous tissues from the skin to see the abdominal cavity and rib cage. You must remove the front of the rib enclosure to see the organs in the neck and chest. In the back of the head, a cut is made from ear to ear to get to the brain.
It is sliced and pulled forward, separating the skull from the scalp. Use a vibrating saw to remove the top of the head. After that, gently remove the entire brain from the cranial vault. You can also gain access to the spinal cord by removing either the anterior or posterior spinal column. The pathologist first examines the organs to search for any evident modifications.
The organs are often separated after being taken out of the body and examined to check for internal abnormalities, such as malignancies. All organs are obtained in small quantities and put into slide preparations for microscopic inspection. After post-mortem care nursing, sew up the incisions made in the body.
Steps of performing a post-mortem care nursing
Post-mortem care nursing involves preparing the body for the family, transporting it to the Morgue, and deciding what to do with the patient’s belongings. Care for the dead also includes making sure they are left alone.
After a doctor declares someone dead, post-mortem treatment typically begins. You might need to delay the post-mortem care until the medical examiner completes a post-mortem if the patient dies violently or in questionable circumstances. Here are the post-mortem care nursing steps you should take:
- Ensure discretion throughout the procedure
- Get a death pack or assemble your supplies
- Put on gloves and wash your hands
- Shut your eyes
- Put the resident’s dentures in their mouth if they are wearing them
- If you can’t, place them in a denture cup with a label that matches the body
- Give your bed a thorough bath
- Put a pad in the perineal region and dress the body in a clean gown
- Before eliminating any of them, make sure tubes or lines may or may not be removed based on coroner policy and instructions
- Wrap the body in a sheet, as permitted by the rules
- Put the body in a plastic bag that has been set aside for that purpose
- Make careful to wear a tag or bracelet or attach identification to the body
- With the aid of coworkers, zip the bag closed, tie the zipper, and transfer the body to a mortuary cart
Nurse’s role in post mortem care nursing
Do you need help with the nurse’s role in post-mortem care? This blog aims to clear up any confusion and define the nurse’s role in post-mortem care in the mortuary. Nurses perform a variety of tasks in hospitals and morgues.
The nurse’s role in post-mortem care nursing includes the following. Nurses care for the dead body in a more brutal way that doesn’t hurt the family or other people there. They take care of the emotional needs of the victims’ families and friends who are upset by how they died.
Nurses also get all the paperwork, like a letter of request and papers related to the Investigation. They also get treatment records and files. They make the necessary entries in the appropriate registers of the Morgue to keep track of all the needs in the right way.
When samples for DNA profiling are needed, they can get them in the right way so that the samples don’t get messed up. Forensic nurses help get biological evidence from the crime scene, like blood and tissue samples. They also keep the case’s clothes, which are often the most critical pieces of evidence.
Post-mortem care purposes
The following are the post-mortem care purposes you need to know:
- Diagnostic purposes
Post-mortem care nursing is diagnostic, and it assists a family in learning more about the disease processes that led to a patient’s death. A post-mortem examination provides professionals with the best opportunity to understand why the patient died.
- Educational purposes
Clinicians, residents, medical students, pathologists’ assistant students, forensic science interns, and our staff can learn about disease processes and their effects through post-mortem care. You may use the tissue in specific programs at the school of medicine to advance the education of students. In addition, some cases are utilized in various presentations to assist people in understanding unique and challenging circumstances.
- Research purposes
If the agreement includes the clinician’s contact information, post-mortem staff can collaborate with them to ensure tissue recovery and preservation. You can later use the tissues to carry out your research.
Post-mortem care nursing interventions
Post-mortem care nursing interventions include things like Nurses must learn to control their own emotions about death. They must also develop internal capabilities and seek assistance from various resources. Nursing should learn to cultivate genuine human empathy, which is vital now.
The four post-mortem stages
The body goes through four stages of change after we die. Use forensic pathology to figure out the time of death, also known as the post-mortem index (PMI). Here are the answers to the question, “what are the four post-mortem stages” in post-mortem care nursing?
- Pallor Mortis
The first thing that changes about a dead body is that the face and other parts become paler. This is because the blood flow has stopped. This is the first sign of death, which happens very quickly, between 15 and 30 minutes after death.
Due to this, it is usually not a good way to figure out when someone died. Studies have also shown that paleness has nothing to do with how a person’s body looks.
- Algor mortis
Since humans are warm-blooded creatures, our body temperatures remain consistent no matter the conditions outside. Our circulatory system is the primary heat dissipater, and the brain acts as our thermostat.
However, the heart stops pumping blood seconds before death, and the brain cells start to die. The corpse soon begins to equal the ambient temperature without the brain and blood that typically conduct heat.
- Rigor mortis
A body will become flaccid shortly after death. All muscles will relax and become limp, but the entire body will stiffen within a few hours. The muscles will now tense and strengthen, a condition known as Rigor Mortis. Since its course is mainly predictable, rigor mortis is one of the most valuable means of identifying the time of death.
- Livor mortis
The final stage in post-mortem care is this. Blood falls to the ground when the heart stops beating due to gravity. Some areas of the body are where it tends to collect. The location of these components would vary depending on the body arrangement.
The blood would collect in the areas contacting the ground, for instance, if the deceased was lying on their back when they or died. It would encircle the person’s fingers, toes, and earlobes if hanging.
Muslim post-mortem care nursing
All civilizations and faiths have various traditions, beliefs, and practices around death. They have led to disagreements on anatomic dissections and post-mortem examinations, particularly among Muslim post-mortem care nursing. In the past, such viewpoints tend to impede scientific and medical progress.
When a person is near death, a Muslim reader recites words from the Qur’an. Non-Muslims should not touch the body while family members are preparing it. After death, the person’s eyes should be closed, and limbs and legs straightened. Unless necessary by law, autopsies and organ donation usually are not permitted.
In summary
Do you still require assistance with post-mortem care nursing? You can better comprehend post-mortem care by adhering to the guidelines on this blog. This blog is an excellent place to start for students who are having trouble with post-mortem care nursing.
This blog’s content makes the process simple, effective, and manageable. This blog will also address your inquiries about the post-mortem care rationale. Contact proscholarly.com if you need help with your nursing assignment.