ACCOMPANYING IN DEATH IS A PILLAR OF CARE, A PAINFUL DUTY AND A DILEMMA

Abstract

This research had the objective of understanding the meaning that nurses give to the act of accompanying terminally-ill patients. Method: Qualitative study with ethnographic tools, such as interviews and observation in a hospital of high complexity, theoretical saturation was obtained from 23 interviews to nurses working in different hospitals in Medellin, Colombia. Results: The company provided by nurses to terminally-ill patients means a pillar of care, a painful duty and a dilemma. Conclusion: Providing company, as a function, implies being near; as a dilemma it implies thinking about the patient's needs, the institution's norms and trusting their own instinct.