The following study explores how hospice nurses who care for terminal patients and their families experience and cope with stress. The majority of hospice nurses experienced occasional stress. The greatest interpersonal stress was related to conflict with physicians and the greatest extra-personal stress was related to workload. These subjects were least stressed by the lack of support from other nurses. The majority of subjects indicated frequent use of positive coping behaviors while negative coping behaviors were used infrequently. The findings suggest further research using quantitative and qualitative measurement tools and inclusion all health-related disciplines involved in hospice care.