How much do they want to know? Communicating with dying patients

Many healthcare professionals either feel too inhibited to talk about death to a dying patient or consider that it will undermine wellbeing. Experienced nurses can help prepare and support staff when communicating with dying people. Patients may indicate that they wish to talk about their prognosis and treatment, and nurses must be able to detect verbal and non-verbal cues. Nurses can enhance the multi-disciplinary team by providing access to accurate and up-to-date information about patients; they can also act as patients' advocate.