Caring for dying patient and their families: The lived experiences of nursing students in Italy

Background: The literature from recent decades persistently suggests that nurses are not adequately trained in caring for the dying. Numerous studies call for enhanced education in end-of-life care. Objective: To explore student nurses’ experience of caring for dying persons and their families and how this experience was influenced by their undergraduate education, with a view to improving end-of-life training. Methods: Narrative interviews were administered to a purposive sample of 18 undergraduate students at Turin University’s School of Nursing and analyzed following Giorgi’s qualitative phenomenological methodology. Results: The students’ accounts featured 4 main themes: emotions and feelings, reactions and coping strategies, growth in personal and professional awareness, and the professional nursing model. Students reporting positive experience of end-of-life care in clinical settings displayed the expected learning outcomes for undergraduate nursing education. Conclusion: This study’s strength lies in the fact that it draws on student nurses’ lived experience to assess training in end-of-life care. It confirms the need to invest in targeted end-of-life education and support for nursing students.