STORIES ABOUT BECOMING A HOSPICE NURSE - REASONS, EXPECTATIONS, HOPES, AND CONCERNS

Two months after the opening of Sweden's first purpose-built free-stan ding hospice, 19 nurses were asked to narrate their reasons, expectati ons, hopes, and concerns about their future work as hospice nurses. Th e stories were analyzed using a phenomenological-hermeneutic approach inspired by the philosophy of Ricoeur. The tension between endurance a nd enjoyment seems to be the essential feature of the nurses' stories. The nurses who were experienced in terminal care hope and expect to e njoy being hospice nurses, provided they are able to give good termina l care, that is, nursing care that is experienced as being meaningful. Those nurses who are inexperienced in terminal care hope and expect t hat they will be able to give and to grow as people and to develop as professionals, but do not yet know what to make of their experiences. Possible implications of the nurses' reasons, expectations, hopes, and concerns are discussed, and an understanding of the tension between e ndurance and enjoyment of being a hospice nurse is presented.