Conflicts of Nurses Who Provide Terminal Care in the Emergency Department

Abstract

This study aimed to describe the conflicts experienced by the nurses who provide end-of-life care in emergency departments. We performed semi-structured interviews for 11 nurses and analyzed the data using content analysis. The conflicts experienced by nurses who provide end-of-life care in emergency departments caused by the “mixed lifesaving and end-of-life care,” “difficulty to catch of the needs of a patient and the family,” and “uncertainly of the goal of nursing care.” “Conflicts of the environment of end-of-life care,” “conflicts of an ethical principle,” “conflicts of the relationship with the family and medical team,” and “conflicts of nursing care to practice without assurance” indicated that the nurses were unable to perform their roles. “Conflicts of the view of life and death as a nurse” contributed to the psychological burden of the nurses. These findings suggest that nurses’ roles to the special requirements of the emergency department should be examined. Further, the goal of nursing care should be sufficiently examined and developed in agreement with the patients’ families and medical teams, based on the existing procedures. In addition, the psychological support of the opportunity of debriefing is important for these nurses.