Perceptions of nursing students about the process of death and dying

Death is a reality and a certainty for all, but in our society has become a taboo. This process occurred through the years with their transition from the family middle to the hospital context. In this new place new characters add themselves to meet and to face the experience of the death: the health professionals. This article aims to understand the perceptions and experiences of nursing students in front of the process of death and dying. The data collection was through a semi-structured interviews with students who attended the 8th Semester in a private institution on DF, 2010, the data collection happened after being approved by the Research Ethics Committee from the referred institution. The research was qualitative and whose six students testimonies were transcribed and analyzed based on content analysis, which ultimately resulted in four themes: I) Difficulty and denial of death; II) emotional management in the face of death and dying; III) Prepare for death and dying IV) Anxiety with the reality of future deaths. We conclude that graduating students feel unprepared to deal with death and dying process and tend to deny the situation. Besides, they point to the need for greater academic preparation about the subject in order to assist the individual self and acceptance.