Purpose: This qualitative study aimed to explore and interpret the meaning and essence of end-of-life care as experienced by nurses in internal medicine wards caring for patients who had completed advance directives (AD). It sought to understand the psychological conflicts, ethical dilemmas, and evolving perceptions of care encountered by nurses during the end-of-life process. Additionally, the study focuses on providing foundational data to support the clinical implementation of the AD system, thereby contributing strategies that improve the quality of end-of-life care and uphold patients' rights and dignity in hospital settings. Methods: A qualitative content analysis was conducted using in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 12 nurses from internal medicine wards in tertiary hospitals located in Seoul and surrounding metropolitan areas. Participants had direct experience in providing end-of-life care for patients with ADs. Interviews focused on capturing nurses’ real-life experiences and reflections related to such care. Data were analyzed systematically following the eight-step qualitative content analysis method proposed by Downe and Wamboldt, allowing for the identification of meaningful categories, themes, and patterns. Results: Analysis revealed five major themes and 16 subthemes. The major themes included: (1) Experiences of repeated end-of-life care and advance directives in internal medicine wards, reflecting the frequent encounters of nurses with terminally-ill patients and their ADs; (2) Multifaceted experiences of end-of-life care based on ADs, suggesting the complexities of care shaped by the presence or absence of ADs; (3) Limitations and dilemmas in AD implementation, highlighting the ethical conflicts arising from low public awareness and inconsistent clinical practices; (4) Shifts in perceptions of life and death, including the development of practical attitudes towards death through repeated exposure to dying patients, illustrating the evolving views of nurses; and (5) Hopes for improving end-of-life care in internal medicine wards, emphasizing the need for enhanced care environments, educational support, and institutional backing. Conclusion: The findings underscore the importance of increasing awareness and improving the clinical application of ADs. Establishing systematic support structures is essential to respect patient autonomy and enhance the quality of end-of-life care in internal medicine wards.

Nurses in an intensive care unit (ICU) often play key roles to improve the quality of end-of-life care. During those times, many nurses report they feel ambivalent in the caring between life and death. The purpose of this study was to analyze the concept of ambivalence that ICU nurses often experienced in end-of-life care. As a method, this study was conducted with the concept analysis using the hybrid model Schwartz-Barcott and Kim (1986) presented, naming the complex and dual feelings nurses experience during end-of-life care in ICU as ambivalence. In the theoretical phase and from the literature review, characteristics of ambivalence were identified. During the fieldwork phase, in-depth interviews were conducted with five nurses. In the final phases, a theoretical description was extracted of ambivalence in ICU nurses during end-of-life care. In terms of results, external factors (i.e., realistic context, contradictions in nursing activities themselves) and internal factors (i.e., personal tendencies, conflicting perceptions of dying, occupational awareness of nurses, role conflicts) were derived as antecedents of ICU nurses’ ambivalence during end-of-life care. Attributes were divided into intrinsic and existential dimensions. Intrinsic dimensions resulted in "coexistence of opposing equivalent values," "uncertainty," "hiddenization," "value confrontation may occur sequentially," and "absence of willingness to resolve." In existential dimensions, the following conflicts were derived: "pressure on work versus sympathy about family grief," "helplessness due to failure of medical care versus sadness for patient death" and "role as a nurse versus sadness felt during end-of-life care.” The results are organized into negative assessments of oneself and adaptations to ambivalence. In conclusion, through this concept analysis, the hope is that ICU nurses will be able to prevent progressing to burnout by accurately and actively facing and managing their own feelings during end-of-life care. Furthermore, this research is expected to serve as the cornerstone of developing theories for clinicians who provide end-of-life care.

본 연구는 간호대학생을 대상으로 임종간호 관찰경험 여부에 따른 웰다잉에 대한 인식, 사전연 명의료의향서 지식 및 태도와의 차이를 파악하기 위해 시도되었다. 연구대상은 경기도, 충청도, 전라도 소재의 4년제 간호학과 대학생 321명을 대상으로 구조화된 설문지를 이용하여 자료수집을 하였다. 수집된 자료는 SPSS 25.0 program을 이용하여 기술통계, t-test, ANOVA, Scheffe' test, Pearson's correlation coefficient로 분석하였다. 연구결과 임상실습 중 임종간호 관찰경험이 있는 간호대학생이 관찰경험이 없는 학생보다 사전연명의료의향서에 대한 태도가 긍정적으로 나타났고 유의한 차이를 보였다(t=3.011, p<.003). 임종간호 관찰경험이 있는 간호대학생의 웰다잉에 대한 인식(r=.194, p=.008)과 사전연명의료의 향서 지식(r=.201, p=.006)은 사전연명의료의향서 태도와 정적 상관관계가 나타난 반면, 임종간호 관찰경험이 없는 간호대학생은 사전연명의료의향서 태도와 웰다잉에 대한 인식(r=.189, p=.029)에서만 정적 상관 관계를 보였다. 따라서 간호대학생의 좋은 죽음과 사전연명의료의향서에 대한 올바른 인식과 긍정적인 태도를 함양시키기 위한 체계적인 교육이 이루질 수 있도록 표준화된 교육프로그램 개발이 필요하다.

본 연구는 요양병원에 근무하는 간호사를 대상으로 죽음인식, 임종간호스트레스, 임종간호수행간의 관계를 파악하 고 이를 기반으로 임종간호수행에 영향을 주는 주요 요인을 파악하기 위한 것이 궁극적인 목적이다. 본 연구는 전라 남도 3개 도시에 위치한 요양병원간호사를 대상으로 연구를 수행하였으며, 조사도구는 죽음인식, 임종간호스트레스, 임종간호수행 설문지를 활용하였다. 수집된 자료는 기술통계를 수행하였으며, 변수간의 상관성을 분석하기 위하여 피어슨상관분석을 수행하였으며, 주요 영향인자를 분석하기 위한 회귀분석을 실시하였다. 통계분석은 SAS 9.1 ver. 을 사용하였다. 간호사 자신의 정신적, 업무적 스트레스가 임종간호수행에 많은 어려움을 야기하고 간호사는 임종환 자를 자주 경험하면서 임종간호스트레스가 높아진다. 죽음인식과 임종간호스트레스는 임종간호수행과 상관관계가 있는 것으로 나타났으며, 임종간호수행에 영향을 미치는 요인은 임종간호스트레스와 임상경력 이었다. 요양병원간호 사의 임상경력이 많은 사람일수록 임종간호수행도가 높았으므로 임상경력을 고려한 임종간호수행이 이루어져야 하 며, 임종간호수행에 있어 스트레스를 줄일 수 있는 방안과 임종간호수행에 영향을 주는 다른 요인을 심도 있게 파악 하여 요양병원 실정에 맞는 임종간호수행 및 교육이 필요하다고 사료된다.