As more people are being sent home “quicker and sicker”, family members are taking on more frequent and complex caregiving responsibilities than in the past. In 2002, more than 1.4 million Canadians 45 years of age and over combined paid employment and care to older adults, and most caregivers worked full time. As the average age of registered nurses (RNs- 44.3 years) continues to rise, there is an increasing likelihood that more Canadian RNs will be caring for elderly, disabled relatives. However, little is known about the extent to which this major group of health professionals cares for their elderly relatives or how the blurring of professional and personal caregiving boundaries affects their health because there is a tendency to treat professional and personal caregiving as separate domains.