Employing a syndromic approach to palliative care for nurses in South Africa, this guidebook aims to reduce suffering in people with life threatening conditions. Equipping nurses, health care professionals, and medical students with the knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary to enable a palliative approach to their daily clinical practices, this resource addresses special topics of health such as HIV/AIDS, cancer, and honing communication skills for talking with the bereaved. Additional topics of discussion include the legal and ethical issues in palliative care in South Africa, organizing palliative care in the public sector, and the pathophysiology of pain.