Aims and objectives: This study aimed to assess whether nurses working in intensive care units view the establishment of communication with patients beyond therapeutic possibilities as an effective palliative therapeutic resource, and which aspects of this communication they valued most.
Method: Data were collected in November 2002, by semi-structured interviews with 10 nurses of both clinical and surgical intensive care unit at a school hospital in Sao Paulo city, Brazil. Interviews were recorded and transcribed to be further analysed according to the qualitative methodology of content analysis.
Results: Four categories of thematic order raised from the collected statements, which clarify (i) the value of communication with terminal patients; (ii) the obstacles found during this process; (iii) the need to identify the individual demands of each patient, (iv) be able to use communication as a tool in the palliative care of the dying patient.
Conclusion: In conclusion, we found that the nurses working at the intensive care unit do consider communication with dying patients an effective therapeutic resource, in spite of their own difficulties in communicating with dying patients, viewing themselves as ill prepared to the task, and often, distancing themselves from the dying patients because of their inability to deal with their own feelings, which were brought forth by the confrontation with the imminence of death.
Relevance to clinical practice: Although the number of interviewed nurses in our study was small, the results corroborated the findings of other studies and revealed an educational aspect in nursing training that deserves serious consideration.