Background: The ability of nurses with experience of personal bereavement to work with patients can have immediate and/or long-term repercussions on their personal and professional life.
Aims: To explore the experience of a personal bereavement, through the death of a significant relative or friend, for nurses working in palliative care.
Methods: A multicentre qualitative study interviewed nurses working in palliative care who experienced a significant bereavement within the last 24 months.
Findings: Key themes: circumstances surrounding bereavement; conflict between the personal and professional; returning to work; grief as a continuum. Advice to bereaved nurses was for them to be open and honest and that work can be grounding; that they should take time off; that grief does not stop on returning to work; and that they should do what feels right for them.
Conclusions: Bereaved palliative care nurses strive to maintain their roles in the face of bereavement. Hospices have a significant part to play in offering ongoing support and flexibility.
Keywords: Bereavement; Nurse; Palliative care; Resilience.