The COVID-19 pandemic placed the hospice philosophy and associated values under pressure. Care provided by hospice nurses shifted from interdisciplinary and holistic care to a focus on avoiding the spread of infectious disease. To better understand the impact of the pandemic on hospice nurses, Bové and colleagues (2023) conducted a phenomenological study of providing end-of-life (EOL) care. The purpose of this study was to elucidate nurses’ lived experience of providing EOL care to patients admitted in an inpatient hospice setting during the COVID-19 pandemic. Nurses described the experience of providing EOL care during the pandemic as having an existential dimension related to being a hospice nurse and a practical dimension related to providing EOL care. The pandemic disrupted the traditional movement between these two dimensions resulting in insecurity and unfamiliarity with care. Read more…
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