End-of-Life Care and Nurse's Roles

Every individual who opens his/her eyes to life at birth closes eyes to death at the end of life. Every individual who is in the process of death wants to spend the last periods of his life as free from pain as possible, in a dignified and peaceful way. End-of-life care is provided by nurses, which aims to alleviate the suffering of individuals in the dying process and to provide patients with a good death experience. The continuation of treatment-oriented practices in the end-of-life period causes the inability to provide end-of-life care and patients suffer from unnecessary practices. Nurses who are in one-to-one contact with patients have important roles in making the decision to switch to end-of-life care and in providing end-of-life care to patients. In the present article, the concept of end-of-life care is examined, the difference between end-of-life care and palliative care, which are often confused, is discussed, and the purpose of end-of-life care and its importance for patients are emphasized. The roles and responsibilities of nurses in end-of-life care are also highlighted. It has been discussed that the roles of nurses are very important in the transition from treatment-oriented care to comfort-oriented end-of-life care, providing effective end-of-life care, and patients experiencing a good death with dignity.