Lesson Topics and Emotions That Pained or Saddened Nursing Students Who Had Lost Someone Close to Them in Lectures on Palliative Care

Abstract

Purpose: This study intended to clarify the lesson topics, lesson content and emotions that painfully saddened nursing students with experience of bereavement taking lectures on palliative care, as well as the emotional changes of these students and the support they expect from teachers. Methods: We conducted semi-structured interviews. Their emotions were analyzed following Krippendorff’s method. Results: Thirty-six nursing students participated in the study. Lesson topics and content included “the state and signs of loved ones near death,” and “general lessons.” Feelings and thoughts presented were “regret,” “remembering,” “emotional upset,” “feeling anxiety,” “feeling dissatisfied,” “experiencing a sense of discomfort”, and “empathizing with the people shown in the teaching material as well as their situations.” With the exception of one subject, all subjects experienced a positive change in their emotions. Regarding to the support, 20 people did not require additional support because of “nothing wrong” or “enough”. Conclusions: Teachers need to specifically explain support content and methods many times, and to face lessons with the strong desire to always support their students.