The Coping Strategies and Cumulative Changes in Intensive Care Unit Nurses after Experiencing Professional Grief: A Hermeneutic Phenomenological Study

Abstract

Background. Compared to nurses in other hospital departments, intensive care unit (ICU) nurses have more frequent exposure to patient deaths, potentially rendering them more susceptible to experiencing professional grief following patient fatalities. Objective. To explore the coping experiences of ICU nurses following their encounter with professional grief. Methods. This study utilized a qualitative research design based on Heideggerian phenomenology. A purposive sample of 18 ICU nurses was selected from six tertiary hospitals in Guangdong Province, China. Individual semistructured interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. The transcribed texts were analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Results. Two main themes emerged: (1) short-term dual coping with professional grief and (2) long-term cumulative changes from professional grief. These themes reflect the dynamic coping processes experienced by ICU nurses amidst frequent encounters with loss and grief during their clinical work. Conclusions. ICU nurses employ both adaptive and maladaptive coping strategies to address professional grief, significantly impacting their personal and professional well-being. It is advisable to offer targeted education and organizational support systems for ICU nurses to promote positive cumulative growth when they repeatedly encounter patient deaths.