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Care to terminal patients. Perception of nurses from the intensive care unit of a hospital.

OBJECTIVE
To identify the perception of nurses with regard to the process of providing care to patients in the context of hospice care.


METHOD
Qualitative study using the methodological framework Collective Subject Discourse. A total of 18 nursing professionals of the adult intensive care unit of a public hospital in São Paulo, Brazil were interviewed between June and August 2012.


RESULTS
The process of providing care to terminal patients is permeated by negative, conflictive and mixed feelings. As regards communication, while the participants acknowledge its importance as a therapeutic resource, they also admit a lack of professional qualification.


CONCLUSION
The interviewees have difficulties to deal with care provided to terminal patients. The qualification of these professionals needs to be improved, starting in the undergraduate program.