Nurses grief, emotional experiences and emotion management When the patient dies

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Assistant Prof. of Psychiatric Nursing- Faculty of Nursing- Mansoura University,

2 Lecturer of Psychiatric & Mental Health Nursing- Faculty of Nursing- Zagazig University

10.12816/0029272

Abstract

Back ground: As health care professionals, nurses experience patient death as part of their
paid work, personal narratives from nurses themselves suggest that they grieve the deaths of
individuals for whom they have cared. Aim of the study: was to determine how nurses
experience grief, explore the nurses' emotional reaction when a patient dies & examine the
extent to which nurses' manage their emotion. Subjects & Methods: Research design: A
descriptive cross-sectional research design was used to achieve the study aim. Setting: the
current study was conducted at intensive care units in Zagazig University Hospitals.
Subjects: The sample was composed of 145 female nurses. Tool of data collection: One
tool was used for data collection: "Nurses and Grief questionnaire". Results: The study result
indicated that studied nurses strongly feel tired, tens, and grief; moderately anxious; slightly
depressed, and rarely feeling guilty, experience job burnout" chronic grief", 50.3% of the
nurses reported that they feel every day" dread getting up in the morning and having to face
another day on the job", and more than half of them 57.9% reported that every day their "work
really puts a lot of strain on them", 43.4% reported that they usually experience
"restlessness", and they mutually was used both suppressive and evocative emotion
managements. Conclusion: It was concluded that when the patient die the studied nurses
strongly feel tired, tens, and grief and rarely feeling guilty. They experience job burnout
“chronic grief" and restlessness, and mutually was used both suppressive and evocative
emotion managements. Recommendations: It is recommended that, the hospital need to
provide more formal support services to health care professionals when a patient dies and
attention to the management of grief-related emotion and the psychological toll it takes on
nurses must be addressed if nurses are to remain in their careers long-term.

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