The absence of an order does not, however, preclude a physician from withholding CPR as otherwise permitted by the law. Some state statutes also mandate that patients receive information about pain management and palliative care as they apply to them and their disease process. Working with Grief Grief, which is shared by both patients and families, is a normal reaction to dying. Elisabeth K bler-Ross, MD, was the first author to delineate five stages of grieving and dying. Nurses should also be aware of their own feelings.
Denial is the avoidance of death's inevitability.
Patients or families may speak or act as if death will not occur. When confronted, they may first appear dazed and unaware of what's happening. Denial can be therapeutic when it allows gradual adjustment to the news. Anger, the most intense grief reaction, arises when people realize that death and loss will actually occur. Anger may be directed at healthcare providers, family members, patients, God, or the world in general.