The Factors Related to the Personal Development of Nurses Who Have Experienced a Patient's Death

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to clarify factors that affect the personal development of nurses who have experienced the death of a patient that left them with strong negative emotions, for example, sadness and remorse. Method: Subjects were 192 nurses with 3 to 6 years of clinical experience who completed a questionnaire comprised of items from the Finding Benefits Scale and the Scale for Coping with Bereavement, which identifies factors related to the personal development. A multiple regression analysis was used. Results: The analysis revealed that most nurses had experienced a patient's death that left them strong negative feelings. The multiple regression analysis revealed that nurses' personal development (evaluated by the Finding Benefits Scale) was significantly affected by the following factors: religious activity and existential meaning, acceptance and overcome, ruminative response, support-seeking behavior (evaluated by the Scale for Coping with Bereavement), and their beliefs about the ideal death. These factors explained 51.0% of the variance of responses. Conclusion: These results suggested that in order to advance nurses' personal development, a various coping behavior was found to be effective.