Sjuksköterskornas upplevelser av det emotionella arbetet : En fenomenologisk hermeneutisk studie

Sammanfattning: Background: A nurse who is working in the health care is expected to show the best side for other people. An emotional work demands a lot of the role of a nurse, when she has to deal with her feelings after the given situation to satisfy the patient. Aim: The purpose of the study is to seek understanding of what nurses perceive to be the essence of the emotional work in health care. The study also wants to understand what factors could affect the meeting both positively and negatively between nurse and patient in social interaction Method: The study’s methodology is qualitative with phenomenological-hermeneutical approach to seek understanding of the six interviewed nurses lived experiences and the experiences of the emotional work. Results: The result has four main themes developed: Emotional management, to consider the patients existential needs, meeting the patient and to do something meaningful. Conclusion: The essence of the perceived emotional work for nurses is emotional transformation where the nurse changes her feelings by acting according to the situation in the meeting with the patient. It is important that nurses reflect in the work so they do not take their work home and become exhausted and burn out. Keywords: Emotional labour, emotional management, patient encounter, phenomenological-hermeneutical, existential needs, the essence, burn out