AIDS-dedicated nurses: what can be learned from their perceptions and experiences

Throughout the history of the AIDS epidemic, the theoretical and empirical literature have emphasized the stressors related to the care of patients with AIDS and the reluctance of health professionals to provide AIDS care. Since the beginning, however, there have been individuals who dedicated themselves to the care of patients with AIDS. This descriptive, qualitative study explored the perceptions and experiences of nurses who have chosen to work on an AIDS-dedicated unit in a New York City medical center, with regard to both their patients and their own personal and professional responses to caring for patients with AIDS. In addition to presenting the interview data of 12 AIDS-dedicated nurses, included are researcher observations, based on 4 months of participatory observation on an AIDS unit. These findings provide insight into the development of the relationship between nurses and their patients with HIV/AIDS and lessons in supporting and enriching those caregiving relationships.