I Need Mental Rehabilitation: Iranian Muslim Nurses' Lived Experiences of Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) of Their Family Members

Background: Nurses sometimes play a therapeutic role for their families in addition to their familial roles, one of which involves cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), a critical situation. Objectives: The purpose of this study is to investigate the life experiences of Iranian Muslim nurses concerning the CPR of their family members. Methods: In this hermeneutic phenomenological study, 9 nurses were selected through purposive sampling, considering the inclusion criteria. Semi-structured questions were asked about their experiences during the CPR of their family members. The data were analyzed using Van Manen's approach to hermeneutic phenomenology. Results: Nurses' experiences were categorized into acute and chronic conditions. The acute conditions included fighting with all their might, restlessness, management and leadership, mutual support, forgotten spirituality, disregard for privacy, and waiting for a miracle. The chronic conditions included battle, boredom, comprehensive management, mutual support, valuing spirituality, and failure to observe privacy. Conclusions: Nurses suffer greatly from performing CPR on their family members, which should be taken into account when providing comprehensive support by both the family and fellow nurses for psychological rehabilitation.