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‘We didn't want him to die on his own’— nurses' accounts of nursing dying patients
Author(s) -
Field David
Publication year - 1984
Publication title -
journal of advanced nursing
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.948
H-Index - 155
eISSN - 1365-2648
pISSN - 0309-2402
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2648.1984.tb00344.x
Subject(s) - nursing , preference , action (physics) , medicine , psychology , physics , quantum mechanics , economics , microeconomics
This paper is based on nurses' accounts of their experiences of nursing dying patients, and the attitudes towards such work which they expressed. Nurses reported high levels of emotional involvement with their dying patients and expressed a preference for being honest with them about their condition. They preferred to nurse patients who were aware of their death rather than those who were not. Structural aspects of the ward organization which facilitate such action and attitudes are identified.