Thanatology

I remember being amused that in medicine, there was a technical name for every bodily function. For example, when writing nursing notes, you did not write down that a patient had the hiccups or had gas. No, that was too simple. Instead, you would chart that the patient had singultus or was passing flatus.

It was no different when we entered our phase of training on the terminally ill and dying patient. I learned that the name for the study of death and dying was thanatology.

It was impressed on the nursing student that it was extremely important to develop an understanding of the impact of death and dying on the terminally ill patient, his family and those caring for that patient in the last stage of his life.

This was the beginning of my personal study of death and dying. Since my nursing school experience, I have encountered the death of patients, family members, friends and pets. I have been most influenced, however, by my own "near death experiences."

Most people tend to avoid talking or thinking about death but, as you can see, I had a real reason to dwell on this topic. I have made many discoveries about the process of dying over the last twenty-five years both personally and professionally.

I became comfortable with discussing a subject that for the most part is taboo. This does not mean I feel a person should become morbidly concerned with death. I feel it is a subject we should not be afraid of discussing.

As a society, we had been conditioned to think of death as the enemy of the living. Dying became even more removed from our thinking as people entered hospitals and were isolated during the dying process. Actually, in previous generations, people died at home with family and friends present.

With the study of thanatology, people are now viewing death in a new perspective. We are realizing that death is and always has been a part of life. It is the final stage in a person's growth and development.

When we allow ourselves to think about death, we accept that there is a limit on the time we have. This knowledge is very useful and can change how we choose to live the remainder of our life.

I have found it very compelling to do something productive with my time. It means that I try to fully live and not just occupy space. It also means saying and doing things that I would regret having not done if I abruptly left my life tomorrow.

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