Building a transdisciplinary approach to palliative care in an acute care setting.

A transdisciplinary team is an essential component of palliative and end-of-life care. This article will demonstrate how to develop a transdisciplinary approach to palliative care, incorporating nursing, social work, spiritual care, and pharmacy in an acute care setting. Objectives included: identifying transdisciplinary roles contributing to care in the acute care setting; defining the palliative care model and mission; identifying patient/family and institutional needs; and developing palliative care tools.