title: Nurses' responses to requests for forgiveness at the end of life.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Patients or family members facing serious illness often express regrets over life events or the need for forgiveness. Professionals, including nurses as the prominent discipline at the bedside, witness these expressions of regret or needs for forgiveness but may not be adequately prepared to optimally address patient concerns regarding forgiveness.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The objectives of this descriptive study were to 1) identify contexts in which nurses have witnessed expressions of regret or the need for forgiveness and 2) describe nurses' responses to these clinical experiences related to forgiveness.
  
  
  METHODS
  Nurses attending palliative care educational programs shared narratives of their experiences in caring for patients who expressed regret or the need for forgiveness. Study narratives were analyzed qualitatively, using content analysis. Themes were identified.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Narratives were provided by 339 nurses from courses throughout the U.S. and Belize, India, the Philippines, and Romania.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Nurses provide clinical care for patients with advanced illness who struggle with issues of forgiveness. Nurses would benefit from additional education regarding how best to address these concerns.
authors.affiliation: Division of Nursing Research & Education, Department of Population Sciences, City of Hope, Duarte, California, USA. Electronic address: bferrell@coh.org.
authors.forename: Betty
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ferrell
authors.affiliation: Division of Nursing Research & Education, Department of Population Sciences, City of Hope, Duarte, California, USA.
authors.forename: Shirley
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Otis-Green
authors.affiliation: Seasons of Life, Arcadia, California, USA.
authors.forename: Reverend Pamela
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Baird
authors.affiliation: Division of Nursing Research & Education, Department of Population Sciences, City of Hope, Duarte, California, USA.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Garcia
mesh_terms: D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D001531:Belize; D003142:Communication; D004506:Education, Nursing; D061347:Forgiveness; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D033262:Narration; D009723:Nurse-Patient Relations; D009726:Nurses / Q000523:psychology*; D010679:Philippines; D012383:Romania; D013727:Terminal Care / Q000523:psychology*; D014481:United States
keywords: Forgiveness; communication; palliative nursing; regret; relationships at end of life