This article is part of Evidence Based Nursing (EBN) Perspectives. In this series, commentaries from the past 2 years from a specific nursing theme are brought together and highlights are discussed. The topic for this edition is advance care planning and palliative care. From October 2014 to the October 2016 edition, 12 commentaries were published on the chosen topic. Key themes are extrapolated from these commentaries, and the implications for practice and future research are explored. To read the full article, log in using your NHS OpenAthens details