ABSTRACT
AFTERCARE?? Aftercare for families who have had a loved one die is a fairly new concept. In 1948 through 1951, my student nursing days, even adequate care of the patient who was in the process of dying was not the rule. This patient was almost always placed in the room farthest away from the nurses’ desk and his call-light the last one to be answered. Frequently the student nurses were told by the nursing instructors, head nurses, and the staff doctors to give more attention to the newly admitted and post-operative patients for whom we could do something worthwhile. We were told, “there isn’t anything you can do for that patient to make him better.”
