Self-Inventory Response: How Do I Feel
NSG210, Week 09, Death and Dying Communication Workshop (evening division, October 22, 2026). Hand in to the facilitator. Inventory and scoring: nsg210-dd-self-inventory.
Name: ________ Date: October 22, 2026
Ratings
| # | Statement | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | I am afraid to care for a dying patient. | 2 |
| 2 | I am very uncomfortable around people who are sad or crying. | 2 |
| 3 | I do not want to touch a dying patient. | 2 |
| 4 | Dying patients should be left in peace, not given usual nursing care such as bathing and turning. | 2 |
| 5 | Terminally ill patients should not be told that they are dying. | 1 |
| 6 | If I cry around dying patients or their families, I am not being professional. | 3 |
| 7 | I am afraid to go into the room after a patient has died. | 1 |
| 8 | If one of my patients died unexpectedly, I would feel I must have made an error in care. | 3 |
| 9 | I do not want dying patients to talk to me about their feelings; it frightens me. | 2 |
| 10 | I am afraid I might have to care for dying children or young adults. | 2 |
Total: 20 of 50 (10-20: quite confident)
Strengths and Weaknesses
My self-inventory score was 20, which falls in the “quite confident” range. Most of that confidence comes from experience. I have lost family members and have been in the room around the time of death. As an EMT I have seen people die and have cared for patients who were already dead, and as an ER tech I have helped with postmortem care and have been part of resuscitation teams, including for children. Because of this, being present at a death, going into the room afterward, caring for the body, and staying near a grieving family are not things I avoid, and I believe patients have a right to know when they are dying. My weaknesses showed up in the two statements I was undecided about. In emergency care the focus is on acting quickly, so when a patient dies unexpectedly my instinct is to look back at what could have been done differently, even when the death was not caused by an error. I am also unsure how much emotion is appropriate to show, because in EMS and the ER I learned to stay composed and move on to the next task. Going forward, I want to debrief with coworkers after a death instead of carrying it alone, accept that some patients die despite good care, and let families see that I am affected while keeping the focus on them. I also want to shift from the resuscitation mindset to comfort-focused communication with dying patients and their families.