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PALLIATIVE AND HOSPICE MODELS OF NUSRING CARE
Precepts of Palliative and Hospice Nursing Care
There are two types of medical care that deal with patients who are seriously or
terminally ill. These two approaches are hospice and palliative care. Hospice care is mainly
concerned with patients who are terminally ill and are likely to die from the illness that they
are suffering from (Ferrell, 2010). Palliative care on the other hand focuses on patients with
serious illness but not necessarily terminal (Ferrell, 2010). Hospice and palliative care are
both similar in their objective which is to ease pain and symptoms for the patients.
Additionally, both approaches share in their goal to uphold dignity for both the patients and
the relatives (Ferrell, 2010). However, the two approaches differ in their prognosis as well as
timing. In hospice care, there is no curative intent either due to lack of availability or the
patient has negated that option because the costs outweigh the benefits. As regards to timing,
a patient must be considered to be terminally ill or within half a year of death to be eligible
for hospice care. In the case of palliative care, there are no time restrictions and the patient is
eligible at any stage of the illness.
Merging of Hospice Care Nursing with Palliative Care Nursing
For the last few decades, medical research has made a case for hospice care to include
patients who are seeking seriously ill and at the same time seeking curative treatment
(Connell, Warner, & Weeks, 2016). The result would be a merger between hospice nursing
care and palliative nursing care. By offering services to patients who are only six moths
within their death, hospice care has become a reserve for a few number of patients and locked
so many patients from accessing the nursing care that they deserve. Thus, merging the hospice
care with palliative care eliminates the administrative inefficiencies and creates a transition
for patients from palliative care hospice care (Connell at al., 2016). Moreover, mainstreaming
curative treatment in hospice care reinforces the objective of improving the quality of life for
