Hospice nursing: a final gift.

Hospice care remains one of the best kept secrets out there. Surveys have shown that if people could choose the circumstances for their death, they would be pain free, die at home, and be among family and friends. Yet in our country there seems to be a reluctance to allow people to let go and complete life's circle. Understandably, there is a tendency for physicians to do one more thing or try one more option--a tendency to fight the inevitable. Many health care professionals seem to feel that offering hospice is tantamount to taking away hope. They view hospice as a last resort rather than a last gift: the experience of allowing a fellow human being to have a "good death".