what the best strategies nurse can use to support family to make difficult and complex decision at the end of life
Nurses are at the bedside during the dying process; they spend entire shifts with patients and families, they develop trusting relationships, and they are competent to assess patient and family needs [1, 17]. Nurses gain a unique perspective that allows them to become aware when a patient is not responding to treatment [18, 19]. This perspective places nurses in a position to facilitate EOL decision making. A systematic understanding of what roles nurses enact and what strategies they use in EOL decision making is necessary to ensure that decisions made are consistent with the patient’s and family’s goals of care.