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To the Editor: In their Perspectives on Care at the Close of Life article about the medical needs of caregivers of dying patients, Dr Rabow and colleagues¹ did not discuss the role of nurse practitioners (NPs). The 5 areas that Rabow et al discussed—promoting excellent communication with family, encouraging appropriate advance care planning and decision making, supporting home care, demonstrating empathy for family emotions and relationships, and attending to family grief and bereavement—are all facets of care that are routinely provided by NPs. With a focus on education and counseling, NPs are helping partners who can assist in the recognition and management of both medical and social problems.²

Recognizing the emotional and psychosocial aspects involved in treating chronic and terminal illness is an important dimension of care.³ The pairing of medical and nursing foci to meet the needs of dying patients, which means being actively involved with their caregivers too, . . . [Full Text of this Article]

Patricia Demarest, BSN
demarest@email.unc.edu
East Bend, NC

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