Objective The attitude towards enabling a good death for patients and handling end-of-life (EOL) care is important for young nurses in terms of their professionalism and personal psychosocial health. The aim of the current prospective study was to assess factors associated with these caring practices in nurses. Methods This cross-sectional study used a purposive sampling design. A total of 104 medical, surgical and intensive care unit (ICU) nurses with at least 3 months of work experience were recruited from a teaching hospital in northern Taiwan. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used for data analysis, including the Student’s t-test, Pearson’s correlation coefficient, one-way analysis of variance, and multiple linear regression. Results The mean age of the 104 nurses was 28.87 (±5.77) years and they had worked for an average of 6.99 (±5.49) years. The attitude of good death and competence in handling end-of-life patients were 170.50 (±16.56) and 134.13 (±23.07), respectively. In the regression analysis, nurses with a good understanding of a good death, with practical experience at an emergency department, or with good patient-nurse communication skills regarding death and dying, showed good competence in handling end-of-life issues. Conclusion These findings may guide other healthcare professionals in providing references for continuing education within the nursing specialty. The authors recommend that nurses involved in hospice palliative care should have a broad knowledge of a good death and good communication skills for discussing the issues surrounding death and dying with their patients.