Background: Organ donation is crucial for the survival of many patients that are waiting for a transplant. Considering that the need for organs is often greater than the supply, it is important that the intensive care providers identify and diagnose potential donors. The intensive care nurse has a central role in the donation process. Caring for a potential donor involves respecting the donor's will and preserving the dignity that the body possesses. It is of great importance that the intensive care nurse feels familiar with the donation process and feels secure in their professional role. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to describe the nurses' experiences of caring for a potential organ donor in an intensive care unit. Method: A literature review with a qualitative approach is conducted. 13 scientific articles from two different databases were reviewed and analyzed. The data was analyzed according to Bettany-Saltikov and McSherry's (2016) model in nine steps. Results: The results show that caring for a potential organ donor can result in experiences of emotional stress. Emotions such as sadness, anxiety, stress, fear, anger and hopelessness arise in connection with caring for a potential organ donor. Trusting the diagnosis brain death was very difficult for the intensive care nurses, this made the work more difficult and ethically challenging. In addition, interprofessional collaboration and training around (donation after brain death) DBD were essential in care. Although the donation process could be experienced as emotionally stressful, the intensive care nurse can experience feelings of meaning. Conclusion: From the results of this study it can be concluded that the donation process is perceived as complex. The intensive care nurses describe the donation process as a stressful task that challenges their professional role and competence. Despite care in this capacity being characterized by emotional and existential challenges, the nurses care for the donor's body and preserve its dignity.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:lnu-120072 |
| Date | January 2023 |
| Creators | Gabaire, Suaad |
| Publisher | Linnéuniversitetet, Institutionen för hälso- och vårdvetenskap (HV) |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | Swedish |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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