The lived experiences of health professionals confronting the sudden death of clients in level I emergency departments in KwaZulu-Natal.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to describe the lived experiences of the health professionals confronting the sudden death of clients in three Level I Emergency Departments (ED's) in KwaZulu-Natal.


METHODS
A qualitative phenomenological approach was used to explore the experiences of nurses and doctors confronting the sudden death of their clients. Two private institutions and one state institution in the Durban area were involved in the study.


RESULTS
A total of 13 health professionals were individually interviewed over a period of approximately seven months. With the aid of a computer package a number of themes emerged from the data namely; "it's a personal matter, what is caring, where is the time, what is coping and which group are you in?" These findings suggested that staff in these departments have a unique way of defining their situation and that collaboration between the doctors and nurses working in the ED is limited. In order to improve the working experience for these health professionals, the ED organisational culture needs to be addressed.
Brysiewicz
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School of Nursing, University of KwaZulu-Natal Durban, 4041. brysiewiczp@ukzn.ac.za
Uys
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D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D003645:Death, Sudden; D004635:Emergency Medicine; D016529:Emergency Nursing; D004645:Empathy; D005260:Female; D006282:Health Personnel / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012945:Social Values; D013019:South Africa