Professional bereavement concept in nursing

Working with terminally ill patients is difficult for nurses who provide care for the patient, but since the relationship involves the concepts of life and death, the relationship established also has an emotional aspect. When a nurse begins to develop a relationship with a patient and experiences the loss of the patient or a perceived loss, nurses begin to go through the bereavement process. This bereavement experience is called “professional bereavement.” Professional bereavement has various effects on nurses in terms of physical, psychological and social aspects. Determining the situations of professional bereavement and related factors is important in order to take measures to protect and improve the health of nurses, to identify groups that are likely to experience difficulties, and to plan psychosocial support services for nurses experiencing bereavement.