In order to understand how to enact ethical practice in the area of assisted death, the moral experiences of nurses should be investigated and foregrounded.

ABSTRACT

The claustrophobic intimacy of an ER exam room can test the dearest relationships. Back home in the big old house, there is space for Elizabeth and daughters Julie and Anne to spread out. That freedom of movement is one thing that is missing here. Another is the sitter, who is with Elizabeth all day long and who serves as a buffer when Anne and Julie visit. Dismissed by Julie before the EMS arrived, she plays many roles. If left alone, Elizabeth wanders about the house and gets lost. The sitter corrals her in the recliner in front of a TV which, though mostly ignored, is a soundtrack to her stream of consciousness and pleasant memories. Without it, there would be silence. Unlike some of us, Elizabeth cannot tolerate silence. That's another reason there is a sitter: to give her someone to talk to, a substitute for an absent spouse. Elizabeth needs that kind of attention now.

No abstract