THE CLINICAL ROLES OF PSYCHOLOGISTS IN END-OF-LIFE CARE: A NEW HORIZON IN INDIAN PALLIATIVE CARE

Among all the various existing skills needed in palliative end-of-life care, none is more important the ability to communicate effectively. Terminal ill experience is the time when patients were overwhelmed with several emotional and psychological symptoms, which need the maximum amount of care, through effective communication in the most appropriate way. Effective communication is the fundamental component to physician and patient quality relationship, which make clinician to be trusted by the patient, resulting in quality decision making for patient treatment and future diagnosis plan in the clinical practices. However, looking at the present scenario of Indian health care system, the absence of good communication is visible in most of the clinical practices, which becomes the underlying reason for terminal patient receiving unwanted life sustaining medical treatment, along with inappropriate care that goes against the patient's choices. Moreover, effective communication also plays an important role in breaking the bad news to patient and family. Thus, seeing at the urgent needs of effective communication in the clinical practices, the present study is forms through fieldwork that is follow up by an analytical study. The aim of this particular research is to inquire, how important the effective communication is in terminal care, and what are the strategies for breaking bad news effectively without hurting the feelings of the dying individual's