The essence of expertise in palliative nursing practice : a hermeneutic analysis

Abstract

The nature of nursing practice and caring are phenomena that have received much attention in the nursing literature in the past. Phenomena that are central to nursing and caring have been addressed and both models and theories have emerged from these descriptions. The practice of expert nurses has also been explored, however, the nature of expertise in the practices of expert nurses caring for patients receiving palliative nursing care has largely been ignored. I addressed this gap in this research. Aim: Palliative nursing practice is patient and family centred as patients and families progress through a living-dying trajectory. The aim of this study was to make explicit the practices of expert palliative care nurses as they care for patients throughout the palliative care phase of their illness and to develop a model of expert practice that depicts these practices. The research focused on nursing practice withm in-patient palliative care units in the Republic of Ireland.