Author: Peter Abraham, BSN, RN

Peter Abraham, BSN, RN, is a compassionate hospice and palliative care nurse, certified end-of-life doula, and grief specialist who walks alongside individuals, families, and healthcare teams during life's most challenging transitions.

Peter's Experience

With extensive experience in heart care, medical-surgical nursing, hospice, and palliative care, Peter is deeply aware of the unique challenges families face during times of illness. His valuable hands-on roles as a case manager and admissions nurse have equipped him with insights into the true needs of individuals navigating these impactful health transitions.

How Peter Helps Through Compassion Crossing

Peter founded Compassion Crossing to provide personalized support that transforms fear into peace. His services include:

Advance Care Planning to ensure your wishes are honored
End-of-Life Support with hospice guidance, legacy projects, and vigil planning
Illness Navigation to help you understand and manage health changes
Grief Support for healing through all types of loss
Medication Reviews to ensure safety and comfort
Wellness Checks that combine companionship with nursing care

Peter also provides staff development training for healthcare teams, helping them feel more confident when caring for patients with chronic and terminal illnesses.

Peter's Mission

Peter's goal is simple: create a supportive environment where no one faces life's hardest moments alone. He writes helpful articles, books, and guides to help caregivers, families, and healthcare professionals feel prepared and confident.

He also shares his knowledge through his YouTube channel, Nurse Peter, where he discusses death, dying, and compassionate care with hospice nurses, holistic nurses, caregivers, and end-of-life professionals.

Life Beyond Work

When Peter isn't working or writing, he enjoys spending time with his wife, Laura, and their two rescue dogs in the beautiful countryside of central Kentucky.

Ready to Talk?

Schedule a free conversation with Peter to see how we can support you, someone you care about, or your organization.

You don't have to face life's difficult transitions alone. We're here to help.

DNR and the Terminally Ill

About Hospice / Advance Directives / Death and Dying / DNR / End of Life / Hospice / MOST-POLST / Palliative Care

June 7, 2020
September 7, 2024

Navigating conversations about Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) orders with terminally ill patients and their families can be challenging yet crucial for ensuring that the patient's wishes and comfort are prioritized. The decision between opting for DNR or full code often involves delicate emotions, medical considerations, and ethical concerns. In this article, we will delve into a methodology that has proven effective in facilitating these discussions, particularly in the context of hospice care. Drawing from years of experience and successful outcomes, we'll explore approaches that prioritize compassion, clarity, and patient-centered care. Additionally, we'll reference valuable resources to enhance understanding and guide these critical conversations.

Assessment / Hospice / Hospice Care Team / Nurse Skills

May 23, 2020
July 5, 2024

As an INFJ, I’m almost constantly introspective. Today, I was helping with an emergency where one of our wonderful on-call nurses was in a car accident. During my visit with a patient I admitted yesterday who is transitioning towards actively dying, I was in bewilderment in my mind about how comfortable and peacefully patient I am when I’m around the terminally ill and their family.

Comfort Medications / Hospice / Morphine

May 9, 2020
September 13, 2024

Morphine is a crucial medication in end-of-life care, but it's often misunderstood. This article debunks common myths about morphine use in hospice, addressing concerns about addiction, hastening death, and sedation. Learn the truth about morphine's role in providing comfort and dignity for terminally ill patients.

About Hospice / Advance Directives / Death and Dying / End of Life / Hospice / MOST-POLST

May 3, 2020
November 7, 2023

Autonomy, the right to receive or refuse medical treatment is a crucial element of health care ethics (American Nurses Association (ANA), 2011; Plakovic, 2016). Nurses are involved in helping patients and families be aware of when end-of-life is occurring, and in educating the patient and family about end-of-life legislation that helps guide everyone committed to continue the right of patient autonomy when the patient is no longer able to express their wishes. Before the Patient Self Determination Act, we had the famous cases of Karen Ann Quinlan and Nancy Cruzan who were, from a point-of-view, forced to suffer for ten or more years of futile treatment (Miller, 2017). Now, we have advanced directives that allow patients to express their wishes while they are able, yet we still have ethical dilemmas when either those needs are expressed vaguely or not at all. It is in the best interest of the patient and the patient's loved ones for advanced directives to be utilized and kept up to date.