Physician/nursing roles and perspectives in relationship to delivery of palliative care.

Palliative or hospice care developed as a new discipline because the needs of the dying patient and family were not adequately met by the established health care system. The focus on the technological aspects of medicine for diagnosis and treatment has resulted in the neglect of the social, emotional and spiritual problems experienced by patients suffering from a terminal disease. Care of the dying is an active process that requires frequent assessments and the aggressive pursuit of appropriate therapies to control both physical and emotional symptoms. Models of practice used by medicine and nursing are compared and related to the delivery of effective and compassionate care to the dying.