Caring for a Dying Patient Implies a Confrontation between a Show of Feelings and Professional Performance

Abstract

Objective: The objective of the study was to understand the meaning nurses afford to the care of patients who are on the verge of death. Method: Interviews were carried out with 23 nurses who have cared for dying patients, and participant observation was done at a third level hospital in the city of Medellín (Colombia). The data were analyzed through an inductive process to establish categories and subcategories. Results: Caring for a patient who is on the brink of death implies an internal conflict, since nurses believe that showing their feelings in the face of death is unprofessional. However, when they fail to do so, they sense their professional practice is less humane. Discussion: When a patient is about to die, nurses evaluate how professional it is to show their feelings and how inhumane it is not to do so. Conclusion: Caring for a dying patient calls for exercising the humanistic aspects of the profession that must be accepted.