Nurses' Lived Experiences Caring for Pediatric Patients at End of Life - Research Paper

Introduction

This is an article which uses the qualitative method of data analysis to explore the lived experiences of nurses who care for the dying pediatric patients. The qualitative method used in this article involved the interviewing of the nurses who were involved in the caring of this category of patients. The face to face interviews gave the researcher an opportunity to get the experience of the nurses from their perceptions (Reuter-Rice &Bolick, 2011). The interviews were auto-recorded for proper record keeping. The qualitative study method used here was in line with Van Manen's methodology of conducting health sciences and clinical medicine. This method of research was relevant for this study because the study does not aim at getting the numerical data concerning their experiences but rather a non-numerical data (Curcio, 2014). This method of study will enable the researcher to obtain the perception of the nurses concerning their experiences.

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Population Sample

In this study, a sample was taken from the nurses who work in dying pediatric nurses. Their choice to participate in this study was based on availability and their willingness to participate in this study. The sampling targeted the nurses who had had similar experiences with the phenomenon in question (Tracy, 2013). The snowballing and word of mouth were the main methods used to select the participants in this study. Further, the nurses in this study had to have one to four professional experiences in pediatric dying patients (Curcio, 2014). The total number of nurses who were interviewed was 9. This is because the qualitative method of study needs small samples of between 4 to 10 people.

The Purpose of the Study

The purpose of this study was to investigate the lived experiences of nurses who care for pediatric patients who are dying. This study phenomenon involved the uncovering and describing the systematic process in which the internal structure and meaning of an event in one's everyday experience. The study therefore aimed at getting the internal experiences of the nurses taking care of the dying pediatric patients based on the perceptions (Tracy, 2013)The main intervention in this study is ensuring that the human rights of the participants are respected. This is done through adhering to the ethical considerations in research. The rights of the participants on whether to participate or not to drop mid-way in the process of conducting the study were observed (Curcio, 2014). The consent of the participants was to be sought before they participated in the study. Equally, the confidentiality of the patients was to be observed and were not to be harmed in any way in the course of the study.

Study Comparison

There was a comparison of the participants experience under the term lived 'experiences' were analyzed first so that it can be correctly used in the context of this study. The recorded data and written records of the participants were then analyzed in the context of what it means by lived experiences. Each of the recorded experiences of the participants was critically analyzed to understand their inner feelings (Curcio, 2014). The exercise of data analysis involved comparing and analyzing the written and recorded experiences and trying to evaluate the two to arrive at the meaning of the `lived experiences.'

Findings of the Study

After a thorough analysis of both the written and recorded data, the following were the findings: Some participants said that they empathize seeing a patient dying peacefully under their care as well as the nursing profession and the families of the deceased. Other participants had feelings of ambivalence because they get concerned that they are not improving the lives of the dying children. The different experiences included inevitability because the death is not avoidable; inspiration because of doing their best when the patient is alive; forming relationships with the dying children and their families; self-preservation and sorrowful because of the inevitable death of the child and the pain to the families (Curcio, 2014).

References

Curcio, Danna L. (2014).The Lived Experiences of Nurses Caring for Dying Pediatric Patients.(2014). CUNY Academic Works. Retrieved fromhttps://academicworks.cuny.

edu/gc_etds/194

Reuter-Rice, K., &Bolick, B. (2011). Pediatric acute care: A guide for interprofessional practice.

Tracy, S. J. (2013). Qualitative research methods: Collecting evidence, crafting analysis, communicating impact.Pearson:New York