title: Compassion and responsibility in surgical care.
abstract: Ten nurses at a university hospital in Norway were interviewed as part of a comprehensive investigation into the narratives of nurses and physicians about being in ethically difficult situations in surgical units. The transcribed interview texts were subjected to a phenomenological-hermeneutic interpretation. The main theme in the narratives was being close to and moved by the suffering of patients and relatives. The nurses' responsibility for patients and relatives was expressed as a commitment to act, and they needed to ask themselves whether their responsibility had been fulfilled, that nothing had been left undone, overlooked or neglected, before they could leave the unit. When there was confirmation by the patients, relatives, colleagues and themselves that the needs of patients and relatives had been attended to in a morally and professionally satisfying manner, this increased the nurses' confidence and satisfaction in their work, and their strength to live with the burden of being in ethically difficult situations.
authors.affiliation: Sør-Trøndelag University College, Faculty of Nursing, Trondheim, Norway. kirsti.torjuul@hist.no
authors.forename: Kirsti
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Torjuul
authors.forename: Ingunn
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Elstad
authors.forename: Venke
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Sørlie
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D002055:Burnout, Professional / Q000523:psychology; D003220:Conflict, Psychological; D003242:Conscience; D004645:Empathy; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D009014:Morals; D033262:Narration; D009664:Norway; D024802:Nurse's Role / Q000523:psychology; D009723:Nurse-Patient Relations / Q000941:ethics; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research; D009741:Nursing Staff, Hospital / Q000941:ethics / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000523:psychology*; D019990:Perioperative Care / Q000451:nursing / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000523:psychology; D013527:Perioperative Nursing / Q000941:ethics / Q000458:organization & administration; D011340:Problem Solving; D020377:Self Efficacy; D012941:Social Responsibility; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000451:nursing / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires