Literature Review

Patients' perceptions of autonomy in palliative care: Two patient interview exemplars Palliative Care and Social Practice; by Kristen Tulloch, Julia Acordi Steffen, John P Rosenberg; 1/19/26 Results: Four themes were identified: (a) my involvement in healthcare decisions, (b) change to my autonomy during illness progression, (c) self-assessing my abilities to exercise autonomy and (d) my coping mechanisms for loss of autonomy. Palliative care patients perceived and managed their autonomy amidst their illnesses, revealing a sense of loss of autonomy extending beyond healthcare into many daily activities. Participants wished to exercise autonomy in nuanced ways, varying in intensity across many aspects of their lives, underscoring the importance of recognising and respecting individuals' wishes for autonomy.Editor's Note: The authors’ focus on coping with loss of autonomy is essential. As illness progresses, autonomy can erode not only in medical decisions but across daily life, identity, and meaning—losses that are too often overlooked in clinical care. The frequently misapplied “Five Stages of Grief” can further blur this reality, reducing complex, personal experiences to linear expectations not supported by contemporary grief research. Understanding how patients adapt to loss of autonomy is foundational to truly person-centered palliative care.

Why asking about “critical abilities” is misguided: Lessons learned from the updated Serious Illness Conversation Guide Journal of General Internal Medicine; by Joel Michael Reynolds, PhD and Michael Pottash, MD, MPH; 1/20/26 The Ariadne Labs’ Serious Illness Care Program is a care delivery model that aims to improve conversations between patients and their clinicians about serious illness. This is accomplished through its foundational tool: the serious illness conversation guide. ... As of 2022, the Serious Illness Care Program has a footprint in over 44 countries and in all 50 states. The conversation guide had been translated into over 13 languages and nearly 18,000 clinicians had been trained on its use. In 2023, the Serious Illness Care Program released an updated conversation guide. ... Gone was the future-oriented question about critical abilities: “What abilities are so critical to your life that you can’t imagine living without them?” A more present-focused question about activities replaced it: “What activities bring joy and meaning to your life?” ... The revision of the Serious Illness Conversation Guide signals more than a semantic change. Its revision of the critical abilities question instead reflects a deeper reckoning with the ethical limitations of traditional advance care planning and with the import of disability bioethics. 

How nurses assess care goals to boost patient satisfaction informa; by Sara Heath; 1/21/26 Nurses at New Jersey's Valley Hospital boosted patient satisfaction by 14% by soliciting and understanding patient care goals. Krystal LaNeve, a nurse at Valley Hospital in Paramus, New Jersey, often finds herself talking a lot with her patients. ... [Dialogue is] key to patient-centered care but operationalizing that can be an uphill battle. Healthcare teams are strapped for time, and it can be difficult to discuss care preferences with patients ...  Editor's Note: While most of this article is behind a paywall, a similar article is posted on the ANA Nursing Resources Hub, "Ways Nurses Can Improve Patient Care."

1 in 3 NPs and PAs switch specialties at least once in career AMA; by Kevin B. O'Reilly; 1/12/26 More than one-third of both nurse practitioners (NPs) and physician assistants (PAs) said in surveys conducted on behalf of the AMA that they have switched the specialty in which they provide care at some point during their career. While most nurse practitioners and physician assistants are trained to practice primary care, overwhelming majorities said additional formal training to gain the knowledge, acumen and skills needed to help provide care in the new specialty area was rarely pursued.

Nurse Honor Guard provides final salute to health care heroes Valley News Live; by Meredith Anderson; 1/16/26 Honor guard ceremonies, which are traditionally reserved for funerals held for military veterans, police officers and firefighters, are becoming more common for another group of frontline workers: nurses. The Georgia Nurse Honor Guard provides tributes to nurses who have died or are in hospice care, offering families a formal recognition of their loved one’s service to the community.

New voices, shared vision: How emerging research scholars are supporting HPNA's research prioritiesJournal of Hospice & Palliative Nursing; by Jyotsana Parajuli, Kristin Levoy, Avery C Bechthold, Lyndsay Degroot, C Robert Bennett, Shena Gazaway, Heather Coats; 12/25Evidence-based practice is critical to providing high-quality hospice and palliative nursing care. Professional organizations, such as the Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association (HPNA), play a critical role in shaping the future of the hospice and palliative nursing field by identifying gaps in the science and fostering collaborative research efforts to inform evidence-based practices. One such driver is the tri-annual HPNA Research Agenda, which outlines key research priorities in hospice and palliative nursing, ultimately aiming to accelerate translation of research into practice and practice improvements. In this article, 6 emerging research scholars in the field and present and former co-chairs of the HPNA Emerging Research Scholar Special Interest Group reflect on the experiences that led them to pursue research careers in hospice and palliative nursing. Through a process of collective self-assessment, these scholars articulated their shared progress toward addressing the research priorities outlined in the 2023-2026 HPNA Research Agenda as a means of generating insights to direct future research efforts in the field.

AMA ‘disappointed’ in MedPAC for backing off deeper Medicare pay reform Becker's Hospital Review; by Alan Condon; 1/15/26 The American Medical Association expressed disappointment after the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission voted Jan. 15 to recommend only a modest update to Medicare physician payments for 2027, backing away from more robust reforms it had previously supported. ... “The AMA appreciates that last year’s reconciliation bill provided a temporary 2.5 percent update for 2026; however, that increase expires in 2027,” David Aizuss, MD, chair of the AMA Board of Trustees,” said in a news release shared with Becker’s. Editor's Note: Pair this with today's post, Alliance responds to MedPAC vote on home health and hospice payment recommendations.

15K Nurses strike, disrupting care at 5 NYC hospitals Patch, New York City, NY; by Miranda Levingston; 1/12/26 Five private hospitals are without nearly 15,000 nurses, who are striking for higher wages and health care benefits, starting Monday. According to the New York State Nurses Association, the contract for the union expired on Dec. 31, and hospitals had until Jan. 12 to reach an agreement with the union. The nurse union said that, in addition to higher wages and health care benefits, the union is striking for improved pension plans and protection from workplace violence, highlighting the recent active shooter situation at Mount Sinai on East 100th Street in November.

Top 10 leadership pivots for 2026 Forbes; by Julie Kratz; 1/4/26 ... “Psychological safety is the most powerful differentiator in building high-performing teams. Those who report feeling psychologically safe are 31% more likely than those who don’t to be a high performer,” as stated in a recent Wiley Workplace Intelligence study of high performing teams. When cultural factors like psychological safety are linked to performance, leaders pay attention. Consider these leadership pivots heading into 2026: