간호사와 의사의 죽음불안과 임종치료 선호도*

본 연구는 간호사와 의사의 죽음불안과 임종치료 선호도를 파악하고 비교하기 위하여 시행되었다. 연구 대상자는 대구시 일개 상급종합병원에 근무하는 간호사와 의사 225명이었다. 간호사의 죽음불안 은 의사보다 유의하게 높았다(p<.001). 간호사는 타인의 죽어가는 과정에 대한 불안, 의사는 타인의 죽 음에 대한 불안이 가장 높게 나타났고, 자신이 죽어가는 과정에 대한 불안은 간호사와 의사 모두에서 가장 점수가 낮았다. 임종치료 선호도는 간호사와 의사 간에 유의한 차이가 없었다(p>.05). 임종치료 선호도 중 통증 영역이 간호사, 의사 모두에서 가장 높게 나타났고, 의료인에 의한 의사결정 영역이 간 호사와 의사 모두에서 가장 낮았다. 간호사와 의사는 죽음불안 및 임종치료 선호도 차이점과 유사점을 서로 이해하여 협력하고 공감하며 최상의 치료방향을 결정해야 한다.

The purpose of this study was to compare attitudes toward death anxiety and preferences for care near the end of life between nurses and physicians. Data were collected from 225 employees (150 nurses, 75 physicians) working in a tertiary hospital in South Korea. The study found a higher presence of death anxiety in nurses than physicians. Within the category of death anxiety, the “dying of others” was highest in nurses, whereas the “death of others” was highest in physicians. Among the five dimensions of the preferred care near the end of life, “pain” was the most preferred dimension while “decision-making by health care professionals” was the least preferred dimension for both nurses and physicians. Physicians preferred autonomous decision-making and decision-making by healthcare professionals; nurses preferred pain and spirituality. The results show that adequate pain relief is the most preferred care at the end of life for both nurses and physicians. This study indicates that nurses and physicians consider patient autonomy, pain control, and spirituality as important factors in end-of-life care. On the basis of these findings, we conclude that educational intervention programs are needed to reduce the death anxiety of nurses and physicians and thereby improve their terminal care performance.