Gerontologic Palliative Care Nursing

Older adults afflicted with progressive, eventually fatal, chronic illness have care needs and personal priorities that tend to focus on living well despite the disease. At this phase of life, the wish is for symptom relief, maintenance of activities, concern for family, and preparation for death and bereavement. When progressive disability marks the last months and years, the patient should remain focused on living life as fully as possible until its end. Major advances in enabling function and managing symptoms have taken place in the past decade or two. People who once would have suffered terribly from pain can now expect to be comfortable with aggressive pain and symptom management.

The challenge in todays nursing practice is that nurses work in a care system that was not designed to deal with the challenges posed by large numbers of persons coming to the end of life at the same time. Nurses are not adequately prepared to provide quality, compassionate care for persons who are old, sick, and eventually dying. Matzo and Shermans new book provides a valuable resource for practicing nurses at all levels in the health care continuum who care for older adults at the end of life. The goal of the book is to enhance quality of life for older adult patients and families who have progressive, incurable illnesses.