Deciding for others: surrogates struggling with health care decisions.

As the number of older adults in our society increases, surrogate decision makers are increasingly likely to be called on to make complex, and often agonizing, health care decisions for loved ones. Recent studies of surrogate decision making have described the decision-making process as overwhelming and stressful. Nurses play an important role in helping family members to make meaningful decisions with less stress. Nurses who serve as educators, advocates, and compassionate listeners can help reduce the deleterious effects of surrogates' difficult decisions. It is important that nurses and other health care professionals find effective ways to support surrogates who struggle with making decisions for others.