ABSTRACT
Health care workers who learn to cope successfully with uncomfortable feelings about dying patients are able to establish therapeutic relationships with patients and families that are also rewarding for the practitioners. Patients need help; families need help; and health care practitioners need help if they are to provide effective therapeutic intervention and support on a daily basis. The medical aspect of the patient's treatment plan will present less of a problem to the staff since it is more highly organized and well-defined. The physician determines the course of treatment, and the nurses assist the physicians in carrying out the treatment plans. This is the significant difference between the physical care that terminal patients receive and the emotional support that they require. Staff needs, when met in terminal care, will strongly influence the degree to which patient/family concerns are given realistic, professional and effective consideration. Through regular team sessions, the staff comes closer together as a mutual support system.
