ABSTRACT
Thousands of years ago, Hippocrates supported in his teachings that every healer
who offers services to the sick experiences “a harvest of sorrows” that results from
being exposed to “the misfortunes of others” (Jones, 1923). This harvest of
sorrows continues to be largely ignored. There is a widespread belief that suffering
is experienced only by patients and families who are affected by the threat or
reality of death. Professionals are expected to be strong, stoic, and immune to the
suffering of others. This stoic approach was and continues to be espoused by the
medical model of care which promotes a disease-centered approach that focuses
on bodies and disease treatments rather than on people. With the advent of the
biopsychosocial model of care, focus shifted from suffering bodies to suffering
patients whose biopsychosocial and spiritual needs are being addressed. Thanks
to the palliative care movement, this patient-centered approach has been enlarged
to also include family members who are supported throughout the dying process
and death of their loved one. Despite this holistic, family-centered approach
to care, research evidence suggests that several families express dissatisfaction
with end-of-life care. Their dissatisfaction is mostly associated with unsatisfac-
tory relationships with care providers rather than to the medical and nursing
aspects of care. They expect more understanding, more availability, more genuine
concern, and compassion. In other words, they seek a different kind of relation-
ship that professionals do not always provide.
