When Patients die and Nurses Grieve: Understanding the Grieving Process of Nurses After the Death of a Patient

After 390 days of being hospitalized, Mr. L. died in the Intensive Care Unit of a large medical center. It had been a long and difficult journey for Mr. L and his nurses. Mr. L was morbidly obese, suffering from diabetes, respiratory problems and multiple organ failures. When the nurses on the medical surgical floor learned about his death, they felt relief. But many of the RNs also expressed sadness and regret. They had tried so hard to get him well, and yet all efforts to move him out of the hospital to a long-term care facility had failed. Mr. L fit the image of the difficult patient, the one who is non-compliant and at times aggressive and moody. The nurses struggled with liking him. Yet they cared for him with compassion and dignity.