PURPOSE: Nurses and physicians must be competent enough to provide care for the clients. As a lack of knowledge and a poor attitude result in a low performance of delivering care, this study aimed to explore the nurses versus physicians' knowledge, attitude, and performance on care for the family members of dying patients (FMDPs). METHODS: This descriptive study was conducted at the educational hospitals in Isfahan, Iran. The samples were 110 nurses and 110 physicians. The data were collected through a convenience sampling method and using a valid and reliable questionnaire. RESULTS: The average knowledge, attitude, and performance on care for the FMDPs were not significantly different between nurses and physicians (p>0.05). The majority of nurses (55.4%) and physician (63.6%) were at a moderate and a fair level of knowledge of care for the FMDPs. Most of the nurses (81%) and physicians (87.3%) had a positive attitude towards caring the FMDPs. Most of the nurses (70%) and physicians (86.3%) had a moderate and fair performance. CONCLUSION: Having enough knowledge and skills, and a positive attitude are necessary for caring the FMDPs. Nurses' and physicians' competencies must be improved through continuing educational programs and holding international and national conferences with a focus on the palliative care.
Adult ; *Attitude of Health Personnel ; *Attitude to Death ; Clinical Competence ; Empathy ; Family ; Female ; Humans ; Iran ; Male ; *Nurses ; *Palliative Care ; Personnel, Hospital ; *Physicians ; *Professional-Family Relations ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; *Terminal Care

PURPOSENurses played a critical role in performing triage during the Iran-Iraq War. However, their experiences in triage have not been discussed. Therefore, the current study aimed to investigate the triage experiences of civilian nurses during the Iran-Iraq War.

METHODSOral history method and in-depth interviews were used to collect data to gain the nurses' experiences in triage.

RESULTSFour themes were extracted from the data, which were the development of triage, challenging environment to perform triage, development of mobile triage teams, and challenges of triage chemical victims for nurses.

CONCLUSIONTriage is an important skill for nurses to manage critical situations such as disasters and wars. Nurses have to be competent in performing triage. Involvement in critical situations helps the nurses learn and gain more experience on how to manage unexpected events.