The nurse's role in supporting and caring for children and young people with life-limiting illness/conditions and their families requires specialist expertise. This domain can be one of the most emotionally challenging areas of practice. The concept of time, and how long practitioners are involved with individual children and their families may sometimes be underestimated. Emotion work is defined as the work involved in managing feelings in both self and others (Hochschild, 1983). The sense of community within the clinical setting can facilitate the nurse to care and maintain professional boundaries.
Transitional care for young people with life-limiting illness is a particularly complex issue. The process of moving from paediatric to adult services is often fraught and poorly planned. As a result, this can add to the distress experienced by the young people and their families. The ideal would be to have a dedicated service for young adults that bridges the gap in care. The continued slow growth of community children's nursing services, however, highlights the constraints in developing services for a relatively small percentage of the population. Healthcare professionals must recognize the specialist needs of this patient group, and develop strategies to ensure that young people receive the care to which they are entitled.
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