Transitions in death : the lived experience of critical care nurses

Abstract

Critical care nurses often face the ordeal of witnessing a patient's death in a tense and stressful environment. Anecdotal stories shared among nurses reveal that unusual experiences often occur at the time of or after a patient's death. This hermeneutic phenomenological study explored the meaning of these experiences for critical care nurses. Using Parse's research method, in-depth interviews were conducted with six critical care nurses who described their experiences at the time of a patient's death as well as during the post-death period. These experiences brought a sense of peace and comfort to each individual as well as reinforced their individual belief patterns about life after death. A distinctive sense of nursing knowing at the time of death was also identified. The findings of this study indicate that the experiences of the phenomenon of death by critical care nurses have a significant impact on each individual and that further research and understanding of this impact is needed.