Introduction: Every day, many nurses in hospitals are confronted with patient death, raising the question of how they will continue to cope with the inevitable aspect of healthcare. Death remains a topic that often triggers emotional responses, uncertainty and personal distress. The experience of death is influenced by several factors, such as personal experience, professional socialization, work environment, and the presence of support and understanding. Furthermore, understanding death is shaped by spirituality and cultural beliefs. In that context, faith and spirituality serve as internal resources that help individuals accept the inevitability of death and find meaning of further life and work even in difficult circumstances. Purpose: The aim of this thesis was to explore the experience of patient death from the perspective of nurses, based on literature review. Methods: We did a descriptive method with a literature revive, we used nine articles in Slovene and English language. The literature search was conducted in biliographic databases: CINAHL, Cochrane Library, Medline and COBIB. The time frame of the included literature ranged from 2015 to 2025. We included nine scientific articles in the literature review, which are presented in a table. Results: The analysis of the selected articles showed that nurses experience a variety of very intense, deep emotions related to patient death, including sadness, powerlessness, guilt and fear. The intensity of emotional reactions was influenced by factors such as years of work experiences, age of nurse and patient, relationship with patient, and the circumstances of death. Moral distress and feelings of helplessness were reported especially in situations where care was perceived as ineffective. The most commonly used coping strategies included emotional distancing, peer support, use of spirituality and faith, and finding meaning through good care provided. Discussion and conclusion: The results suggest that the topic of death remains underdiscussed and often neglected, despite its strong impact on nurses' well – being. Creating an environment that support open communication, sharing of experiences, amd emotional support within healthcare teams is crucial for effective coping with patient death.
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