Journal of Korean Critical Care Nursing (중환자간호학회지)

Korean Society of Critical Care Nursing (한국중환자간호학회)
권호 표지

Experiences of Critical Care Nurses Caring for Dying Patients

중환자실 간호사의 임종 환자 돌봄 경험

  • Seol, Eun-Mi (Department of Nursing, Seoul National University Hospital) ;
  • Koh, Chin-Kang (College of Nursing, The Research Institute of Nursing Science, Seoul National University)
  • 설은미 (서울대학교병원) ;
  • 고진강 (서울대학교 간호대학, 간호과학연구소)
  • Received : 2018.05.23
  • Accepted : 2018.06.01
  • Published : 2018.06.30
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Abstract

Purpose : This study aimed to develop an in-depth and comprehensive understanding of the experiences of critical care nurses caring for dying patients. Method : Eleven critical care nurses with experience in caring for dying patients were recruited from four tertiary hospitals. Semi-structured face-to-face interviews were conducted between November 2016 and March 2017. The transcribed data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis to identify major themes and sub-themes that represented the experiences of critical care nurses. Results : The following six themes, and twelve sub-themes, were identified: (1) the gap between expectation and reality, (2) a distorted meaning of death, (3) repeated emotional pain and stress, (4) finding a solution alone, (5) sublimation into mission and calling, and (6) integration into one's own life. Conclusion : This study found that critical care nurses experience various psychological difficulties while caring for dying patients, and they made efforts on their own to overcome them. These findings are expected to inform the development of specialized programs to support critical care nurses to tackle these challenges, create guidelines on caring for dying patients, and help promote death education.

Keywords

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