Preface xv PREFACE A Text for Every Nurse Every nurse cares for dying people. Whether you nurse in a hospice or a palliative care, medical, intensive care, or long-term care unit, you care for people who are dying, you care for their family members, and you care for people experiencing loss and grief. You care in your profes­ sional and your personal life, and you care as a member of the larger community. This text will help every nurse to in- tegrate a palliative approach into care by incorporating the principles and practices of hospice and palliative care across all care settings, early in the disease process, for people with any life-limiting illness. This text was created to be “delicious and digestible.” The colorful, evocative illustrations make it delicious for the eyes, helping you envision the concepts of hospice and palliative care in practice. The stories bring flavor and depth to the concepts and principles, and build your ap- petite to turn the page and see what is next. The text is digestible, because current best practice, principles, and practical care strategies are provided in bite-sized pieces that you can easily absorb and use in your practice. The ultimate goals are for nurses to learn how to provide ex- cellent physical and psychosocial care for the dying person and their family, and to feel more confident, competent, and compassionate in doing so. The illustration with the nurse within the star is used in this text as an icon to prompt reflections on what best practice might be for a given situation. The icon will be your cue to consider the care issues presented and reflect on how best to provide care. I hope that this text will both be an educational tool and inspire you to claim or to reclaim and to celebrate the art and science of hospice and palliative care nursing. Visit the Life and Death Matters website for learning activ- ities and new companion resources for this text, Essentials in Hospice and Palliative Care: A Resource for Every Nurse. Essential Reading for Every Nurse Every nurse provides hospice and palliative care. This text provides knowledge, skills, and strategies for providing excellent hospice and palliative care and, as such, is an essential resource for every nurse. Use these chapter summaries to decide how you want to approach the book in a way that will best meet your needs. Chapter 1: The Dying Process Causes of death have changed in the past 100 years. Read this chapter to learn about the common patterns of dying for people in the 21st century and the impact of these patterns on the dying person, their family, and the health care system. Chapter 2: Integrating a Palliative Approach Learn about the first hospice that Dame Cicely Saunders created, the philosophy, principles, and practices of hos- pice and palliative care, and how they have been shaped, woven together, and reformed into the current practices of integrating a palliative approach. Chapter 3: Preparing to Care Strategies for best practice, including compassion and pro- viding love in professional practice, are explained in this chapter. Learn to reflect on how you provide care, and to consider how you can integrate best practice interactions.