End of Life : A Nurse's Guide to Compassionate Care

Contributors and consultants vii PART ONE Understanding end-of-life care 1(46) 1 Concepts of palliative care 2(12) 2 Essential communication skills 14(9) 3 Ethical considerations 23(11) 4 Legal considerations 34(13) PART TWO Caring for patients 47(148) 5 Evidence-based care 48(12) 6 Palliative drug therapy 60(18) 7 Psychosocial, spiritual, and cultural care 78(20) 8 Patients with cancer 98(31) 9 Patients with heart failure 129(12) 10 Patients with neurologic disease 141(15) 11 Patients with pulmonary disease 156(14) 12 Patients with renal disease 170(13) 13 Care of a dying child 183(12) PART THREE Helping the family 195(72) 14 Family and caregiver care 196(15) 15 Support systems 211(11) 16 When death nears 222(11) 17 Bereavement care 233(20) 18 Issues in acute care setting 253(14) PART FOUR Supporting the staff 267(35) 19 Documenting care 268(12) 20 Living with dying 280(22) Caregiver resources 302(1) Selected references 303(2) Index 305