[Perception of nurses about ethical dilemmas related to

Rev Esc Enferm Usp · Mar 2009

[Perception of nurses about ethical dilemmas related to terminal patients in intensive care units].

The purpose of this study was to learn about nurses' perception about ethical dilemmas in nursing care for terminal patients in the context of a general hospital ICU in the city of São Paulo, and what they take into account when making decisions. The study was performed through interviews with ten nurses working at the ICU, using a qualitative approach based on content analysis. Ethical dilemmas were found to be linked to: diversity of values; presence of terminal patients at the ICU; uncertainties aboutterminality and the limits of intervention to prolong the patients' lives; disagreements in decision-making; non-acceptance of the process of dying by the patients' families and the lack of clarifications for the patient and the family. In addition, the nurses consider their values, the professional ethics, empathy and dialogue with co-workers to make decisions in view of such ethical dilemmas.

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- Adriano Aparecido Bezerra Chaves and Maria Cristina Komatsu Braga Massarollo.
- Universidade Cidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil. enfadriano@yahoo.com.br
- Rev Esc Enferm Usp. 2009 Mar 1; 43 (1): 30-6.
AbstractThe purpose of this study was to learn about nurses' perception about ethical dilemmas in nursing care for terminal patients in the context of a general hospital ICU in the city of São Paulo, and what they take into account when making decisions. The study was performed through interviews with ten nurses working at the ICU, using a qualitative approach based on content analysis. Ethical dilemmas were found to be linked to: diversity of values; presence of terminal patients at the ICU; uncertainties aboutterminality and the limits of intervention to prolong the patients' lives; disagreements in decision-making; non-acceptance of the process of dying by the patients' families and the lack of clarifications for the patient and the family. In addition, the nurses consider their values, the professional ethics, empathy and dialogue with co-workers to make decisions in view of such ethical dilemmas.

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