Dame Cicely Saunders, founder and president of St. Christopher's Hospice in London (1967), shares her vision of hospice and palliative care, and discusses lessons to be learned from the dying.

Hospice and palliative care has evolved around the world as a method of caring that uniquely meets the needs of patients and their caregivers. Hospice and Palliative Care: Concepts and Practice offers theoretical perspectives and practical information about this growing field. Contributors from varied disciplines, including community medical care, geriatric care, nursing care, pain management, research, counseling, and hospice management, provide the broad professional approach so critical to quality palliative care.

"Over the centuries healers have been called upon to palliate, or "make better," myriad afflictions. Only in recent times has the notion arisen that our primary goal is to identify and cure diseases, thereby prolonging life and, presumably, preventing distressing symptoms and associated suffering. The medical advances made in recent decades are indeed so astonishing that one could almost forgive those who would hope that a cure-based medical system might eliminate scourges such as pain, chronic illness, and the debilitations of old age. However, we remain mortal. I recall a scene from Bernado Bertolucci's film Little Buddha in which a child sits with a wise, old monk looking out over a bustling city in Nepal. "What is impermanence?" asks the child. The monk answers, "See these people. All of us and all the people alive today. One hundred years from now we'll all be dead. That is impermanence." Intellectually, I understand the truth of this statement. However that more than 6 billion people will die in a period of 100 years is beyond my comprehension"--

The Hospice Companion is an easy-to-navigate clinical decision support tool for caregivers of those with life-limiting illnesses. It features a thoroughly current guide to clinical processes and symptom management, providing hospice professionals with a concise summary of changes that have influenced clinical practice.

Rev. ed of: The hospice companion / Perry G. Fine. 2008.

Textbook of Palliative Medicine provides an alternative, truly international approach to this rapidly growing specialty. This textbook fills a niche with its evidence-based, multi-professional approach and global perspective ensured by the international team of editors and contributing authors. In the absence of an international curriculum for the study of palliative medicine, this textbook provides essential guidance for those both embarking upon a career in palliative medicine or already established in the field, and the structure and content have been constructed very much with this in mind. With an emphasis on providing a service anywhere in the world, including the important issue of palliative care in the developing nations, Textbook of Palliative Medicine offers a genuine alternative to the narrative approach of its competitors, and is an ideal complement to them. It is essential reading for all palliative care physicians in training and in practice, as well as palliative care nurses and other health professionals in the palliative care team

This handbook is an essential guide to caring for the community palliative care patient in relation to COVID-19, when the patient’s preferred place of care is at home or the hospice. It will guide you through appropriate care procedures and protocols in managing end-of-life patients who show symptoms of COVID-19. Key features include: Difficult conversations and communication skills Symptom management Advance care planning Caring for stable patients with palliative needs and those who are at end-of-life Supporting the family and friends of the patient Your own well-being as a healthcare professional Supported by applicable case studies from a range of community care settings, this guide will be relevant to anyone affected by the challenges of COVID-19 when managing end-of-life patients or caring for older people, including paramedics, nurses and palliative care providers.

Excellent resource for those caring for patients with distressing symptoms in hospice, cancer or community settings. Includes detailled nursing assessments of etiologies of distressing symptoms, treatment guidelines using the algorithmic model for pain, dyspnea, diarrhea, and all other distressing conditions as well as common issues such as skin care, seizure protocols, management of falls, including lots of tables for adujuvant therapies, scales to use for documentation of care, and non pharmacologic interventions. Caring communication, spiritual assessment and guidelines as well as cultural sensitivity guides are included. An awesome practical pocket sized book for anyone in the hospice and palliative care field.