This essay is a study about how people who work at caring facilities, such as retirement homes, reflect about their role as caregivers for people that are in the last phase of their lives and how they reflect about meeting death at work. The study is conducted through interviews with six people that currently work or have worked at caring facilities.  In the essay the informants’ perceptions of a good death are discussed, and what they strive to do when caring for a dying person. The concept of a good death is also discussed in relation to euthanasia. The primary result is that it is evident how the informants use empathy and internalisation as tools to estimate what the caretakers desire. This internalisation leads to a large personal commitment to caring, and can possibly affect the person who provides the care on a personal level. Four of the six informants believe in paranormal phenomena and this is discussed in relation to their work of caring for dying people. Some of the informants report that they feel a responsibility to care well for the person before s/he dies so that they will rest in peace and not start haunting. These primary themes are discussed in relation to Berger & Luckmann’s concept of border situation, and it is shown that the informants have in different ways internalised their experiences from working with death to manage the crisis for the symbolic universe that death entails.

Bakgrund: Tidigare forskning visar på en stressig arbetsmiljö för sjuksköterskor med flera komplexa arbetsuppgifter. Behovet av att delegera arbetsuppgifter ökar i och med detta och kraven på att delegera patientsäkert beskrivs som centralt. Den tidigare forskningen ger ingen klar bild över vem som har vilket ansvar i delegeringsfrågan. Syfte: Syftet med examensarbetet var att undersöka sjuksköterskors ansvar vid delegering av hälso- och sjukvårdsinsatser i kommunal verksamhet. Metod: Studien följer en kvalitativ ansats med en innehållsanalys. Insamlingen av data skedde via inspelade semistrukturerade intervjuer. För examensarbetet blev sex sjuksköterskor intervjuade. Resultat: Tre kategorier utformades av resultatet: ansvar gentemot patienten vid delegering, ansvar under delegeringstillfället och ansvar efter utförd delegering. Gemensamt hade informanterna ett standardiserat – webbaserad – delegeringsrutin. Dock fanns det lite till ingen uppföljning på delegeringar. Slutsats: delegeringsprocessen är komplex med oklar ansvarsbild. Sjuksköterskan ansvarar för att patienten i slutänden får god och säker vård även om det är helg, kväll eller sjukdomsfall i personalgruppen. / Background: Previous studies show a stressful work environment for nurses with complex job assignments. The demand to delegate job assignments is increasing as an aftermath and the requirement to delegate job assignments with patient safety in mind is described as a central factor. The previous studies gave no clear image of who has the responsibility in delegations. Objectives: The aim of this study was to examine the registered nurses’ experiences of responsibility during delegations. Method: The study has a qualitative approach and is assembled in content analysis. Data has been collected through semi structured interviews. For the study six nurses have been interviewed. Result: The manifested results formed up in three categories: responsibility towards patients when delegating, responsibility during the delegation and responsibility after the delegation. The informants had in common that they were following a standardized web-based delegation routine. Though there was slight to no follow up on the delegations. Conclusion: The delegation process is complex with unclear responsibility. The nurse is responsible for ensuring that the patient receives good and safe care in the end, even if it is weekend, evening or illness in the staff group.