The National Consensus Project Guidelines for Quality Palliative Care and the National Quality Forum Preferred Practices for Palliative and Hospice Care Quality Report provide a framework for the delivery of high-quality palliative care in all settings. The purpose of this article is to illustrate how nurses can use these documents to promote optimal end-of-life care. Because care of imminently dying patients is an integral part of palliative nursing practice, the preferred practices identified for this domain of care are highlighted here.
Author Affiliations: Maureen Lynch, MS, APRN, BC, PCM, AOCN, Nurse Practitioner, Pain & Palliative Care Program, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA.
Constance M. Dahlin, MSN, APRN, BC, PCM, Co-director, Outpatient Pallative Care Service, Massachussetts General Hospital, Boston, MA.
Address correspondence to Maureen Lynch, MS, APRN, BC, PCM, AOCN, Pain & Palliative Care Program, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, 44 Binney Street, Boston, MA 02115 (mtlynch@partners.org).
