Aspects of caring for dying patients which cause anxiety to first year student nurses

Aim To examine what aspects of caring for dying patients cause anxiety in student nurses during their first year of training. Design Qualitative descriptive study. Setting A university in the UK delivering preregistration nurse education. Method A purposive sample of 38 student nurses who had just completed their first year of their programme consented to participate in the study. Data triangulation was employed, with data collected from students' reflective diaries and two focus group meetings. Findings Eight themes emerged relating to students' anxiety about caring for dying patients: coping with the physical suffering of patients: what to do or say; the severing of the relationship with the patient; the type of death; cardiopulmonary resuscitation; last offices; coping mechanisms; and interventions that would improve the student experience. Conclusion Findings from the study suggest that it is aspects of the caring role, rather than personal fear of death, that form the source of much of students' anxiety.