I am continuing to shadow practitioners and visiting patients in their homes. This has given me an opportunity to begin interacting with patients some that are close to the end of life. Patients are in different settings: in their home surrounded by family, in someone else’s home, in a skilled nursing facility, or living alone. Each time I visit a different situation, I can feel myself on some level assessing the situation, and judging it, yet also having my world opened wider to the varied ways people live. Ultimately I am struck by how open and inviting people have been with me, when they have so little time left, and they are willing to share stories, feelings, or words of wisdom with me. I am noticing myself observing the patients, who I know are the primary concern, but also what the interactions are between the patient and caregivers, and well as the mood of the caregivers. One situation I found myself feeling judgmental was when I visited a woman who was praying with the Chaplain to live for one more week until her new great grandson came to visit. The patient was not eating or drinking very much, and was quite jaundice. Not knowing the details, I was frustrated that her family could not come sooner. Yet as I observed the Chaplain, she focused on reading to the patient, discussing looking forward to next week, and ensuring her pain was under control so she might be able to eat. One patient I visited was living alone, and she is very close to the end. Her house is immaculate, she is perfectly dressed, and as a stranger I would never know she was ill. Yet as we visited with her, it became apparent that she was experiencing more frequent heart trouble, and was worried that she was going to pass away last week. As she and the Chaplain discussed her recent decline, the Chaplain brought up the possibility of getting a Lifeline service. The patient mentioned several reasons she did not think it was a good idea. The Chaplain allowed that choice, even though the woman had brought up several safety concerns around possibly falling when she had chest pains, and having pain at night when she is alone. These are areas where I understand the NASW Code regarding allowing patient self-determination yet it also feels like it is difficult to determine what is the boundary between self-determination and acceptable risk. Also how do I define ‘acceptable risk’ versus how does someone else define it? This is an area where I will need to remember to not impose my values and ensure I am following the guidelines regarding if a “clients’ actions or potential actions pose a serious, foreseeable, and imminent risk to themselves or others” (National Association of Social Workers, Code of Ethics, 2008).