RESUMO
OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this research was to seek to understand the lived experience of intensive care nurses caring for patients with delirium. The objectives of this inquiry were: 1) To examine intensive care nurses' experiences of caring for adult patients with delirium; 2) To identify factors that facilitate or hinder intensive care nurses caring for these patients. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY: This study utilised an interpretive phenomenological approach as described by van Manen. SETTING: Individual conversational interviews were conducted with eight intensive care nurses working in a tertiary level, university-affiliated hospital in Canada. FINDINGS: The essence of the experience of nurses caring for patients with delirium in intensive care was revealed to be finding a way to help them come through it. Six main themes emerged: It's Exhausting; Making a Picture of the Patient's Mental Status; Keeping Patients Safe: It's aReally Big Job; Everyone Is Unique; Riding It Out With Families and Taking Every Experience With You. CONCLUSION: The findings contribute to an understanding of how intensive care nurses help patients and their families through this complex and distressing experience.