Suraj Murugarajan
Class of 2024San Ramon, California
About
My name is Suraj Murugarajan, and I am interested in pursuing a medical career. My project is a literature review of the effects of hospice and palliative care on patients' physical and existential suffering. I chose this project because I want to highlight a relatively new field of medicine that is not widely known about.Projects
- "How do palliative care and hospice care impact the physical, spiritual, and existential well-being of adults with terminal illnesses?" with mentor Clayton (July 18, 2023)
Project Portfolio
How do palliative care and hospice care impact the physical, spiritual, and existential well-being of adults with terminal illnesses?
Started Oct. 25, 2022
Abstract or project description
Palliative care and hospice care are medical specialties focused on enhancing the quality of life and alleviating physical, mental, and spiritual suffering among patients with advanced and/or terminal illnesses. These two fields of medicine were initially conceived of about 120 years ago. However, the widespread implementation of these fields into the global practice of medicine only began about 70 years ago. These fields have continued to grow worldwide as has the research on their effect on the physical, spiritual, and existential well-being of patients who are terminally ill. In this literature review, I will be gathering and reviewing the relevant literature on the topic of palliative and hospice care and their impact on the physical, spiritual, and existential well-being of adults with terminal illnesses. The review will be split into a few parts: one section being background and the history of palliative and hospice care, one section about the effects on physical pain and discomfort, one section on the effect on spirituality, and one section on the effect of the existential well-being of a patient. I hope to show people a newer field of medicine that is not being discussed as widely as it could be.