Traits of hospice nurses compared with those who work in traditional settings

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Abstract
Compared 36 hospice nurses with 35 nurses who were working in traditional settings. Data from a battery of five tests (Templer Death Anxiety Scale, Purpose in Life, Shneidman „You and Death” Questionnaire, Myers Briggs, Cattell 16PF) revealed the hospice nurses to be significantly more assertive, imaginative, forthright, free-thinking and independent than their colleagues, who scored lower than the norms. The nurses in traditional settings exhibited a stronger preference than both hospice nurses and norms for the practical and no-nonsense in their approach to life. They were also more conventional and comfortable with structure. These data suggest a useful basis for hospice staff selection procedures as well as further study of the hospice as a setting evocative of autonomous professional nursing practice.