Preface, Acknowledgments, Introduction, Nurses as Actors, Comparison of Terminal and Acute Care, The Role of the Registered Nurse, The Problem, Method, Definition of Terms, Guiding Questions, Data Collection, Data Analysis, Symbolic Interactionism, Symbolic Interactionism and Nursing Care, Literature Cited, Four South, the "Hospice Unit", The Unit, The Patients, A Typical Day, Five Days in the World of Four South, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Beliefs and Behaviors of Four South Nurses, Beliefs About Nursing, Philosophies of Nursing, Holistic Care, Spiritual Care, Nurses Are Human, And the Show Must Go On, Nursing the Dying, Beliefs About Life and Death, A "Good Death", Accompanying the Dying, Relationship of Beliefs to Observed Behavior, Expressive and Instrumental Behaviors, Expressive Behaviors, Instrumental Behaviors, Relation of Expressive and Instrumental Behaviors, Interactive Behavioral Models, Are These Nurses Different?, Philosophies of Life and Death, The "Good Nurse", Distancing, Philosophical Similarities of Four South Nurses, Nursing Priorities, Conclusion, Literature Cited, Nursing the Living and the Dying, Acute and Terminal Labels, Biological and Psychospiritual Care, Dimensions of Care with Acutely Ill Patients, Dimensions of Care with Terminally Ill Patients, Unit Dynamics, Inconsistencies, "Busyness", Focus of Care in Hospice, Differences among Individual Nurses, Responsiveness versus Unresponsiveness, or Do They Need Me?, Interactions with Responsive Patients, Interactions with Unresponsive Patients, Interactions with Disoriented Patients, Interactions with the Dying, Symbolic Interactionism: An Explanatory Framework, Conclusion, Literature Cited, Role Transition: How Do the Nurses "Change Gears"?, Role Theory, Disparate Ideologies of Care, Role Insufficiency, Role Conflict, Nursing as Caring, Caring Strategies, Caring as an Explanation of Findings, Symbolic Interactionism and Caring, The Effect of Busyness on Caring Behaviors, Conclusion, Literature Cited, Conclusion, Summary, Role Transition, Caring, Patient Responsiveness and Orientation, Symbolic Interactionism, Specialized Preparation and Time, Discussion, Literature Cited, APPENDIX A: Method, The Design, The Setting, Protection of Human Subjects, Techniques of Data Collection, Data Analysis, Literature Cited, APPENDIX B: The Fieldwork, My Background, Gaining Entrance, Getting Started, Doing the Fieldwork, APPENDIX C: Review of the Literature Relevant to the Study, Hospice, Origin of Hospice Care, A Model Hospice, Caring, Caring Defined, Caring in Nursing, Caring in Hospice, Literature Cited, Bibliography, Index