Other Titles

Student Experiences in Nursing Education

Abstract

Session presented on Saturday, July 23, 2016:

The purpose of this research study was to explore the lived experiences of nurses caring for children. The method for conducting this research study was from a qualitative phenomenological perspective. Nurses and health care professionals may at times have difficulty adjusting and processing when life ends and this may have the potential to interfere with self-adjustment, and in turn, patient care. Reflection on the past events and actions of the pediatric nurses enable critical discovery of strategies to benefit nurses and ultimately benefit patients. Nine female nurse participants, with between 1 and 4 years experience were interviewed. The meaning of the context of the lived experiences of nurses caring for dying children uncovered seven essential themes of empathy, feelings of ambivalence, inevitability, inspiration, relationship, self-preservation, and sorrow. In identifying these seven themes it was determined that through learning about the lived experiences of nurses caring for dying children adaptation, termed as 'censoring', became apparent. Recognizing 'censoring' helped to understand that the nurse is an adaptive system functioning for a purposeful cause. Nurses care for patients that are sick, patients who are in the throws of suffering, and they may also care for patients who are in the process of dying. The topic of caring for dying children becomes vital when helping nurses transition through the child's dying process because health care professionals may have difficulty adjusting and adapting when illness ends life. Many research sources provide information to help the patient during the dying process, however, there is a paucity of research that provides information for nursing students and bedside nurses to provide help for themselves during the dying process of their patients. Learning about the insights, knowledge, skills, and attitudes of nurses helps to supply knowledge and validate personal experiences. Knowledge gained from this study will provide reasoning and substantiate practices in nursing, increasing knowledge and experience sharing within the domain of pediatric death and dying. Also, lessons can be learned, translated, and transferred to nursing students, bedside nurses, and can be woven into nursing curriculum.

Authors

Danna L. Curcio

Author Details

Danna L. Curcio, RNc, FNP

Sigma Membership

Epsilon Mu

Lead Author Affiliation

College of Staten Island, The City University of New York, Staten Island, New York, USA

Type

Presentation

Format Type

Text-based Document

Study Design/Type

N/A

Research Approach

N/A

Keywords:

Pediatric Nurses, Dying Children, Adaptation

Conference Name

27th International Nursing Research Congress

Conference Host

Sigma Theta Tau International

Conference Location

Cape Town, South Africa

Conference Year

2016

Rights Holder

All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record.

All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository.

All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.

Acquisition

Proxy-submission

Share

COinS
 

The lived experiences of nurses caring for dying children: Preparing students and nurses for practice

Cape Town, South Africa

Session presented on Saturday, July 23, 2016:

The purpose of this research study was to explore the lived experiences of nurses caring for children. The method for conducting this research study was from a qualitative phenomenological perspective. Nurses and health care professionals may at times have difficulty adjusting and processing when life ends and this may have the potential to interfere with self-adjustment, and in turn, patient care. Reflection on the past events and actions of the pediatric nurses enable critical discovery of strategies to benefit nurses and ultimately benefit patients. Nine female nurse participants, with between 1 and 4 years experience were interviewed. The meaning of the context of the lived experiences of nurses caring for dying children uncovered seven essential themes of empathy, feelings of ambivalence, inevitability, inspiration, relationship, self-preservation, and sorrow. In identifying these seven themes it was determined that through learning about the lived experiences of nurses caring for dying children adaptation, termed as 'censoring', became apparent. Recognizing 'censoring' helped to understand that the nurse is an adaptive system functioning for a purposeful cause. Nurses care for patients that are sick, patients who are in the throws of suffering, and they may also care for patients who are in the process of dying. The topic of caring for dying children becomes vital when helping nurses transition through the child's dying process because health care professionals may have difficulty adjusting and adapting when illness ends life. Many research sources provide information to help the patient during the dying process, however, there is a paucity of research that provides information for nursing students and bedside nurses to provide help for themselves during the dying process of their patients. Learning about the insights, knowledge, skills, and attitudes of nurses helps to supply knowledge and validate personal experiences. Knowledge gained from this study will provide reasoning and substantiate practices in nursing, increasing knowledge and experience sharing within the domain of pediatric death and dying. Also, lessons can be learned, translated, and transferred to nursing students, bedside nurses, and can be woven into nursing curriculum.