A Hospice facility has the following principles:

GMCH - 2016

Nursing Foundation

Easy

Appeared in: GMCH - 2016

Explanation

Hospice care is a philosophy and model of care that centers on the comfort and quality of life for a person with a serious illness who is approaching the end of life.
The focus is holistic, addressing the physical, psychological, social, and spiritual needs of both the patient and their family.
Unlike curative care, hospice prioritizes pain and symptom management, comfort, and ensuring the patient's final days are spent with dignity.
Support for the family, including decision-making and bereavement counseling, is a fundamental aspect of the hospice model.

Option A: This statement is partially correct but contains a critical error. While hospice affirms that dying is a normal process, it does not intend to hasten or shorten death. The goal is to allow a natural end-of-life process.
Option B: This statement is directly contrary to the core principles of hospice. The primary goal of hospice is to provide relief from pain and other distressing symptoms to ensure the patient's comfort.
Option C: This is incorrect. Hospice care explicitly includes the family as part of the unit of care. Providing bereavement support to the family for up to a year after the patient's death is a standard and essential service.

Clinical Relevance

Nursing practice connection: This is primarily an exam-oriented knowledge point with limited direct bedside application, so retain Principles of Hospice Care as background academic context rather than a clinical decision trigger.
Nurses play a vital role in hospice care by managing symptoms, providing emotional support, and educating the patient and family about the dying process.
Understanding hospice principles allows nurses to advocate for their patients, ensuring they receive appropriate end-of-life care that aligns with their wishes for comfort and dignity.
What if? If a patient in hospice care expresses a desire to stop eating and drinking, the nurse's role is not to force nutrition but to honor the patient's wishes as part of the natural dying process, while continuing to provide comfort measures like oral care to manage dryness and discomfort.

How to Approach the Question

First, identify the core concept of the question, which is 'hospice care principles'.
Recall the fundamental goals of hospice: comfort, quality of life, and support for both patient and family, rather than cure.
Evaluate each option against these core principles.
Eliminate options that directly contradict the philosophy of hospice. For example, stating pain relief is 'not a priority' is a major red flag.
Similarly, excluding 'bereavement care' is incorrect as family support is integral.
Select the option that most accurately and completely describes the central focus of hospice care.

Concept Tested & Keywords

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E6 Nursing Fundamentals Potter Perry 12e Part 4 p. 47-49

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