| A phenomenological nursing study was conducted which examined the lived experience of the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) nurse who had experienced patient death. The problem identified was the lack of relevant nursing literature which addressed how the ICU nurse dealt with the death of patients. The question which guided the research was: What is the expressed experience of the ICU nurse who encounters patient death? Themes emerged from this study which included: coping, suffering, responding to death, emotional disconnectedness, faith, and accepting death. The literature did support the themes which emerged form this study; however, not all of the literature related directly to the ICU nurse. The results of this study had implications for nursing practice, education, and research. This study revealed how ICU nurses internalized patient death. |
