Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects
Date of Degree
6-2014
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Program
Nursing Studies
Advisor
Martha Whetsell
Subject Categories
Nursing
Keywords
Dying Pediatric Patients, Pediatric Nurses, Phenomenology, Qualitative, Roy Adaptation Model
Abstract
The purpose of this research study was to explore the lived experiences of nurses caring for dying pediatric patients. 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 patient care. Reflection on past events and actions enable critical discovery of strategies to benefit both nurses and patients. The method for conducting this research study was from a qualitative phenomenological perspective exploring the lived experiences of nurses caring for dying pediatric patients. The philosophical underpinning of Merleau-Ponty (2008), in combination with the research method of van Manen (1990), was used for this research study. 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 pediatric patents uncovered seven essential themes of empathy, feelings of ambivalence, inevitability, inspiration, relationship, self-preservation, and sorrow bringing to a close that through the lived experiences of nurses caring for dying pediatric patients an overall theme of censoring becomes apparent. The Roy Adaptation Model (RAM) (Roy & Andrews, 1991; Roy, 2009) was found to be a nursing model that helped to understand that the nurse is an adaptive system functioning for a purposeful cause.
Recommended Citation
Curcio, Danna Leigh, "The Lived Experiences of Nurses Caring for Dying Pediatric Patients" (2014). CUNY Academic Works.
https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/194