Experiences of Critical Care Nurses of Death and Dying in an Intensive Care Unit: A Phenomenological Study Vasanthrie Naidoo 1* and Sibiya MN 2 1 School of Nursing, Department of Medical and Surgical Nursing, Life College of Learning-KZN, South Africa 2 School of Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, Durban University of Technology, South Africa * Corresponding author: Vasanthrie Naidoo, School of Nursing, Department of Medical and Surgical Nursing, Life College of Learning-KZN, South Africa, Tel: + 0027 082 5191; E-mail: vasie.naidoo2@lifehealthcare.co.za Received date: Feb 11, 2014, Accepted date: Jul 08, 2014, Published date: Jul 12, 2014 Copyright: © 2014 Naidoo V, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Abstract Background: Working in the intensive care unit can be traumatic for nursing personnel. Critical care nurses are faced with repeated exposure to death and dying as they are involved in caring for patients who are actively dying, have a terminal illness or face impending death. These nurses relate in different ways to the phenomena of death and dying within their nursing profession and their scope of practice. Critical care nurses often have a difficult time coping with the stress that comes with caring for those who are dying or relating to loved ones of those that are dying. Aim of the study: The aim of the study was to explore the critical care nurse’s experiences of death and dying. Methods: A qualitative, descriptive phenomenological research approach was used to guide the study. Approval to conduct the study was obtained from Durban University of Technology Faculty Research Committee, the eThekwini District Health Research Unit, and the Nursing Service Manager of the participating hospital. The study population comprised of nurses working in the Critical care unit of the participating hospital. Results: Findings of this study revealed that issues such as communication, multicultural diversity, education and coping mechanisms relating to caring for the critically ill and dying patient are essential in nursing education and practice. Conclusions : Critical care nurses need to have support networks in place, not only to assist in providing care, but also for their own emotional support and well-being. Keywords: Critical care nurse; Death; Dying Introduction and Background Information According to Prompahakul, Nilmanat, and Kongsuwan it was noted that the most important aspect of nursing is caring and this is even more so in an intensive care unit (ICU) [1]. In a study done by Farrell, it was noted that critical care units of today are totally dedicated to saving lives by offering specialized disease and surgical management to many patients [2]. Not only must the critical care nurse be able to deliver high quality medical care skilfully, using all appropriate technologies, she must also be able to apply psychosocial and other holistic approaches when planning and delivering care [3]. According to Urden, Stacy and Lough critical care nurses fulfil speciality roles that require their clinical teaching, leadership, research and consultative abilities. According to Alspach [4], the scope of practice for acute and critical care nursing is defined by the dynamic interaction with the acutely and critically ill patient. Hay and Oken further argue that the psychological burdens placed on critical care nurses are extraordinary often the situation these nurses face on a regular basis can be likened to that of a soldier serving with a combat group [5]. Critical care nurses are continuously championing the needs of the critically ill patient, the family or significant others [6]. A study that was conducted by Dracup and Bryan-Brown, revealed that while much attention was focused on the critical care nurse’s role to assist others in the end-of-life or dying process, little attention was paid to the critical care nurse’s psychological, cultural, and spiritual well-being when dealing with death and dying or end-of-life issues [7]. Problem statement Even though a nurse can celebrate the positive effects that nursing care has on a patient, there may still be no closure when death, dying and despair are witnessed. Therefore, understanding critical care nurses’ experiences of death and dying can help the health care delivery system prepare and educate these nurses on issues relating to the needs of the dying or terminally ill patient and also teach them how to effectively deal with such issues. Aim of study The aim of this study was to explore the critical care nurse’s experiences with death and dying. Research question There was only one central research question that was posed to all the participants which guided the study, “What are the critical care Nursing and Care Naidoo and Sibiya, J Nurs Care 2014, 3:4 http://dx.doi.org/10.4172/2167-1168.1000179 Research Article Open Access J Nurs Care ISSN:2167-1168 JNC, an open access journal Volume 3 • Issue 4 • 1000179