Nursing professionals, death and the dying process in the intensive care unit

Abstract

Death is a phenomenon that causes deep reactions among nursing professionals. For this reason we aim to understand the feelings and the coping mechanisms of these professionals while facing the dying process and the death of patients in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). This qualitative descriptive-exploratory study was carried out between March and April, 2007 in the ICU of a philanthropic hospital located in the city of Pelotas, RS. Five nursing professionals participated in the study. All data were collected using semi-structured interviews, from which two main subjects emerged: (1) the professionals'feelings towards death and (2) the coping strategies of these professionals. We believe that dealing with the patients' death is a hard task for the nursing professional and that is why we highlight the impostance of investing in strategies that stimulate the reflexion about the human existence.