Palliative Nursing: Scope and Standards of Practice

Palliative nursing reflects a holistic philosophy of care and services for patients and families who face serious or life-threatening illness in a wide variety of settings and conditions. Hospice and palliative nurses work side-by-side with patients and their families as well as with numerous interdisciplinary colleagues, and provide consistent responsibility for the round-the-clock care of palliative patients. Attending to the patient's end-of-life physiological and psychological responses and requirements as well as to the social and cultural factors and the spiritual aspects of care is the essence of palliative nursing.