Life and death are inseparable. From the moment of birth we begin to die,
because our cells are programmed to grow, mature, and die by a process called
apoptosis. But nevertheless, death often comes as a surprise, even to doctors
and nurses, who try to forget that every symptom, injury, or sickness is yet
another memento mori. The burden of life and death is too heavy for
the medical profession to cope with by itself. In order to alleviate this burden
and improve patient care, doctors and nurses should have interdisciplinary
conferences with clergy, philosophers, psychologists, sociologists, and other
non-medical experts, who can help to illuminate and mitigate the universal
paradox of life and death - the danse macabre.

Competing interests:
None declared