In hospice nursing, dying persons and their families are the unit of care and the focus of nursing interventions which are provided within the context of interdisciplinary care. The key component of hospice nursing is the interaction between the nurse, the terminally ill person, and the family. This naturalistic study was designed to describe the family caregiver's relationships between the hospice patient, the nurse, and themselves. The intent was to determine if family caregivers would develop empathic relationships with the hospice nurses. Nine bereaved family caregivers participated in the study. All were bereaved at least six months prior to being interviewed. The major finding of the study was that family caregivers perceived the hospice nurses as part of the family. The hospice nurses were characterized as respectful, kind, caring, clinical experts whose presence and interventions helped meet the needs of the family experiencing death.
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