Death as a natural process in the terminal phase

Abstract

Introduction: Nursing staff must acquire experience and knowledge about the physical and psychological management of cancer patients, considering death as the end of life, the management and acceptance of grief must be a priority, taking into account that death of patients indirectly affects health personnel on a psychological level. Objective: To identify the acceptance of death as a natural process in terminally ill patients, by Nursing staff. Methodology: The research was quantitative, field and descriptive, whose population was 24 nurses who work at the Hospital Solca Núcleo de Tungurahua, the survey was applied based on the questionnaire of attitudes towards death that addressed 6 dimensions. Results: 83.33% have thought of death as a possible fact, 66% are afraid of dying young and find it difficult to face death, 62% report that when they attend a terminal patient they have thought about the possibility of his death and it moves him to face his family, 29% see death as a passage to eternity and think that there is life after death and 33% show that death can be an exit to the load of the life. Conclusion: The death of a patient in the terminal phase is a scene that the nursing staff faces daily, accepting it provides an adequate management of grief and allows to provide care with empathy directed to the patient.