4. Anticipate biological and spiritual aspects occurring at the moment of death

10. Describe the emotional and spiritual dimension of caregiving

5. Name clinical events occurring in the last 12 hours of life

Unit 7Section 2Exercise 3The last 12 hours

Clinical correlate 3: the last 12 hours.

Return to Donald Hall’s poem “Last Days”. Read the last 5 stanzas carefully. List the physical observations of what happens when a person approaches death. Then compare these features with a clinical description of this process.

Study Questions

1. What do you think about the descriptive powers of the poem?

2. What added value does the poem give to a clinical summary? What is the added value of the clinical version?

3. Make a statement about the unique contribution of the texts in this exercise to the competent practice of medicine.