Qualitative Research

What is so stressful about caring for a dying patient? Nursing 314 – Research February 3, 2013 What is so stressful about caring for a dying patient? Death is something that we all have to deal with, be it in our profession or in our daily lives. This article discusses the reasons why caring for dying patients is stressful for nurses and is a high risk for burn out. The article also gives findings related to the study and gives recommendations based on the results. The study shows that education is needed for the nurses that care for the dying patient.

The article gave me the understanding of the purpose of the research study and the findings of the study. The article clearly states the purpose of the research and the findings. The title is clear and unambiguous, but the abstract causes the title not to be accurate. The Title should maybe state something about the Nursing shortage. The abstract offers a clear overview of the study. The abstract states that the problem stems from the nursing shortage, and this is what causes stress and burnout.

The abstract also states that the “study used a qualitative theory approach to examine the experiences of nurses and their particular concerns about caring for a dying patient” (Peterson, 2010). The purpose of the study is to examine the experiences of nurses and their concerns about caring for the dying patient. In order to address the reasons for the stress, the study was designed to provide a better understanding of the concerns the nurses have regarding caring for the dying patient. The literature review helped me to understand the specific concerns/stressors that nurses experience when caring for a dying patient.

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Peterson states that “common clinical stressors experienced by nurses are 1) watching a dying patient die, 2) the death of a patient, and 2) listening to or talking with a patient about their death imminent death” (Peterson, 2010). In the Nursing profession we are taught how to give holistic care and our main goals are to help our patients to feel and to get better. We tend to develop a bond with our patients and it is very stressful watching someone die, especially when we have that special bond.

It is also hard listening and talking about the death. Being able to maintain professional distance while caring for the dying patients and their families, was another common concern among the participants (Peterson, 2010). The sampling method and sample size was identified in the study. A qualitative grounded theory approach was employed for two reasons. “The first was to gain an understanding of the concerns that the nurses had and to gain knowledge about their experiences in their own words.

The second was to allow emotional dimension to be examined” (Peterson, 2010). Data collection strategies were clearly stated. The study used audiotape interviews and online open ended surveys. The nurses and nursing students were also examined for the amount of experience they had. There were 15 participates of which 8 were interviewed at a Midwestern university, and 7 were online. “Participants were asked to respond to two measures about death. The first was the multidimensional fear of death scale.

The participants exhibited an average or healthy level of fear. The second measure was the Frommelt attitudes toward nursing care of the dying scale, which is show the attitude the participants had toward caring for dying patients. Only 9 completed the scale and all indicated a positive attitude toward caring for dying patients” (Peterson, 2010). A lot of nurses aren’t accustomed to caring for dying patients and thus have a fear due to lack of experience. Others may have a fear of not knowing how to respond and react to the dying patient.

It appears that the participants were suitable for informing research and that the researcher followed the steps of the data analysis. This was a qualitative study of which interviews and surveys were appropriate. There were no indication that measures were taken to ensure autonomy, confidentiality and freedom of harm. The participants did sign an informed consent before they had an interview. I did not see where the researcher discusses anything about trustworthiness in the article, nor did I see anything about credibility, dependability, transferability and goodness discussed.

The findings of this research study were clearly identified. The results were broken down into three sections and revealed that more education is needed on death and dying. It was found that communication can be a hindrance if there is a lack of education and trainings. In conclusion the article proved and showed the true stressors on Nurses that deal with dying patients on a daily basis. The study proved that communication challenges were the primary concerns among the participants. In order to help nurses cope more effectively in this situation, communication training programs are needed not only to benefit the nurses, but to provide the best care for their patients” (Peterson, 2010) The reference section clearly cited all resources that were used in the study. REFERENCES Brown, S. J. (2012). Evidenced-Based Nursing: The Research-Practice Connection, 2nd edition. Sudbury, MA: Jones Bartlett Learning. Peterson, J. (2010). What is so stressful about caring for a dying patient? International journal of palliative Nursing.

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