EXPERIENCED NURSES NARRATIVES OF THEIR BEING IN ETHICALLY DIFFICULT CARE SITUATIONS - THE PROBLEM TO ACT IN ACCORDANCE WITH ONES ETHICAL REASONING AND FEELINGS

In previous interviews, experienced nurses have reported that their de cisions in ethical matters depended ''on the situation at hand. '' We interviewed 18 good, experienced cancer nurses to determine how they h andled ethical decisions. They were asked to give an account of diffic ult situations that required ethical decisions to be made. The 60 narr ated situations were interpreted step-by-step departing from the follo wing two questions: what do nurses experience when being in ethically difficult care situations? What does the expression ''it depends on th e situation at hand how I act '' mean? In complex situations, the nurs es reported that the ethical situations that arose were regarded eithe r as overwhelming or at the other end of the spectrum, as possible to grasp, and they expressed either loneliness or togetherness, respectiv ely. When reporting overwhelming situations, the nurses mostly referre d to themselves by using the word ''one,'' i.e., ''one would'' and use d ''they'' when referring to their coactors. When narrating situations possible to grasp, they used the terms ''I'' and ''we. '' The most im portant situational factor that was revealed in these narratives was w hether or not the nurses had a support group in which to share their t houghts., Without the support group, they reported difficulties acting in accordance with their ethical reasoning and feelings.