De la fin de vie d'une personne âgée malade : questionner les pratiques

The development of palliative care has enabled many elderly patients to choose to remain in their resident nursing home rather than to die in their home or at hospital. Ethical and psychological support for the terminally ill resident raises many questions concerning routine practices of the supporting team members (psychologist, healthcare team, benevolent workers). This article uses a clinical case to engage a more general reflection concerning ways to adapt support for the terminally ill geriatric patient, identifying the psychic implications of end-of-life and death, giving a sense to life, and creating a link between the supporting team and the residents, while respecting the human dignity and discourse of the terminally ill.