Overview
Introduction
Two patients may both need expert symptom relief, yet one may be receiving palliative care while the other is enrolled in hospice.
Two patients may both need expert symptom relief, yet one may be receiving palliative care while the other is enrolled in hospice. Palliative care is an approach used at any stage of serious illness to relieve suffering, support quality of life, and help align treatment with patient goals. It can occur while disease-directed or life-prolonging treatment continues. Hospice is a comfort-focused subset of palliative care for a person with a life-limiting illness and an expected prognosis of six months or less. The estimate is a prognostic and eligibility criterion, not a precise prediction of the day the patient will die. For the NCLEX-PN, identify the care goal first, then determine whether the finding is an expected symptom, a treatable source of distress, or a red flag requiring immediate escalation.