[The role and mission of nurses in hospice care]

The concept of "hospice care" was first institutionalized in Taiwan 19 years ago. Today, 30 hospitals in the country provide hospice care, with healthcare teams actively providing humane and compassionate care to those in the last phases of incurable disease so that they may live out their remaining time as fully and as comfortably as possible. Typical therapeutic approaches to hospice care include meaning/existential, nostalgia, environmental and spiritual. Aside from managing symptoms, healthcare teams should address proactively the spiritual needs of a patient's spouse and family in order to create meaning and value by helping them look beyond grief and death to appreciate the warmth of life. This study used a number of clinical cases as examples to illustrate how nurses in an interdisciplinary team setting collaborate to perform their responsibilities and integrate with one another. Ultimately, the healthcare team works to improve the living quality of patients and their families so that all can 'rest in peace'