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Syfte: Syftet var att belysa sjuksköterskans emotionella erfarenheter av att arbeta i hemsjukvården med patienter som vårdas i livets slutskede samt hur dessa emotioner kan hanteras och bearbetas.

Metod: Empirisk intervjustudie med kvalitativ ansats. Studien inkluderade tre allmänsjuksköterskor och tre distriktssköterskor anställda i hemsjukvården.

Resultat: Ur analysprocessen framkom tre kategorier: emotionell tillfredsställelse, emotionella svårigheter samt hantering- och bearbetningsstrategier. Kategorierna bildades utifrån analysens sju subkategorier: glädje i palliativt vårdande, meningsfullhet, harmoni, ångest i mötet med den lidande patienten, sorg i relation till gamla minnen, rädsla för att vara otillräcklig, kollegialt stöd, professionellt förhållningssätt samt ökat behov av samtalsstöd.

Konklusion: Sjuksköterskor inom hemsjukvården upplever olika emotioner i vårdandet av palliativa patienter. Vikten av att känna tillfredsställelse i arbetet betonades precis som tryggheten till kollegor i arbetsgruppen vid bearbetning av svårhanterade emotioner och situationer.

Purpose: The purpose intended to illustrate nurses emotional experiences of working in home health care with patients who need care in the end of life and also how those emotions can be handled and processed.

Method: Empirical interview study with a qualitative approach. The study included three general nurses and three district nurses with a home health care employment.

Results: The analysis process resulted in three categories: emotional satisfaction, emotional difficulties and strategies to handle and process those difficult emotions. The categories were created from the following seven subcategories: joy in palliative care, meaningfulness, harmony, anxiety in the meeting with the suffering patient, sadness in relation to old memories, fear of being inadequate, collegiate support, professional approach and increased need for counseling.

Conclusion: The emotional experiences of caring in the end of life perceived differently among nurses in home health care. It was important to feel satisfaction at work as well as the feeling of safety/security to colleagues during the process of severe emotions and laborious situations.