Tacit Process for Obtaining Nursing Skills

In Japan, it is no secret among nurses that some hospital nurses can sense that a patient is close to death in spite of there being no obvious changes. However, no empirical data about this phenomenon have ever been compiled. The purpose of this study is to clarify the characteristics of nurses with such ability. A questionnaire survey was given to 262 nurses anonymously during November 2013. The items to be asked in the questionnaire were whether or not they had ever sensed a patients’ being close to death as a dependent variable, and their charcteristics as independent variables. 143 nurses were responded. The mean age of the respondents was 50.2. 47 respondents responded “yes”, and 92 responded “no” to the question, “whether they had ever sensed that a patient was close to death without obvious changes in their vital signs”. As a result of chi-square test, significantly relevant to this variable were “educational background (BScN and Junior College)”, and “possessed license (RN and LPN)”. The t-test showed that a significant difference was noticed in years of experience as an RN between “yes” and “no” groups. These results suggest that the ability to sense patients’ coming close to the end of life without the presence of obviously objective signs depends not on their natural abilities, but on their experience. Of course, we must consider that these responses were based on self-report, so the issues such as confirmation or hindsight bias related to heuristics may take place. However, the frequency of nurses who self-reported they were able to sense patients close to death without any obvious changes shows something more than just a rumor among nurses.