The Loss of the Nurse as an Individual: Nursing, Well-Being and Existentialism

Research into how existentially aware nurses and nursing interventions have highlighted the benefits to patients and patient outcomes. Less is known about how existentially based training affects nurses themselves. This project sought to understand if and how a training programme developed to improve nurses' knowledge of existential theory would affect their well-being. Overall, despite challenges to recruitment, follow-up and data collection, three key themes were developed from the data: (1) Things Are Difficult, (2) We Need More… and (3) Well-Being Is Personal. Existentialist philosophy can be an effective way of providing nurses with the tools to develop and express their own definition of well-being. It can also be useful to healthcare systems and administrators seeking to find ways of reducing burnout and turnover among nursing staff.