Conference Proceedings - School of Nursing & Midwifery - Trinity ...

School of Nursing & Midwifery, Trinity College Dublin: 8 th Annual Interdisciplinary Research Conference
Transforming Healthcare Through Research, Education & Technology: 7 th – 9 th November 2007
Conference Proceedings
Methodology: The purpose of this descriptive qualitative study was
to examine the experiences and perceptions of ICU nurses who had
cared for patients at the end of life.The research method
implemented was a qualitative research approach. Qualitative
research approaches are centred on a holistic view of the world
(Burns and Grove, 1997). The researcher for the purpose of this
study followed the naturalistic inquiry that allowed the phenomenon
to develop itself as if it was not being researched. Qualitative
descriptive studies are normally the least “theoretical” of the
qualitative methods. A Theoretical framework based on my
literature review was used as the framework for this research. A
purposive method of sampling was used to select participants.
Parahoo (1997) stated that this is a method where the researcher
chooses who to participate in the study in order to present the
correct data. The researcher chose this method in order to use the
best accessible nurses to provide data on the topic being
researched. The selection of participants for this research was the
result of specific guidelines set by the researcher. Twenty Nurses
expressed an interest in partaking in the study. However six
participates withdrew from partaking in the study before it
commenced due to personal reasons. Therefore fourteen ICU nurses
out of a possible twenty agreed to participate.
Within this study, the data was collected using semi-structured
interviews guided by open-ended questions. This study aimed to
reveal nurse’s experiences, knowledge and thoughts on E.O.L.C. in
ICU. The researcher wanted to be sure that all the information
required on the specific topic was covered in this qualitative study
so semi-structured interviews were employed. Semi-structured
interviews ensure that researchers obtain all the information needed
and allows participants the freedom to answer in their own words,
providing as much detail as they wish (Polit and Beck, 2004). The
open-ended interview questions were created by the researcher,
which progressed from general to more specific inquiries. The
structure of each question was guided by the theoretical framework
of the phenomena E.O.L.C. The researcher carried out a pilot study
using the semi-structured interview guide on two participants before
commencing the core research. This was to practice the researchers
interviewing skills, interview tool and data collection method. This
helped to highlight any weaknesses in the design of the study
before the major research began. The fourteen interviews took
place in a private tutorial room off the ICU dept, which was
distanced from the working environment. Observational notations
were made post each interview for the purpose of data analysis.
Verbal and non-verbal communication is a complex process
consisting of two main components i.e. what is being communicated
(essence) and how it is done (the exchange) according to Routasalo
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