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In elderly care registered nurses (RNs) and nurse assistants (NAs) face ethical challenges which may trouble their conscience.This study aimed to illuminate meanings of RNs' and NAs' lived experience of troubled conscience in their work in municipal residential elderly care.Interviews with six RNs and six NAs were interpreted separately using a phenomenological hermeneutic method.Data was collected in 2005 among RNs and NAs working in special types of housings for the elderly in a municipality in Sweden.The RNs and NAs were selected for participation had previously participated in a questionnaire study and their ratings in the questionnaire study constituted the selection criteria for the interview study.The RNs' lived experience of troubled conscience was formulated in two themes. The first theme is 'being trapped in powerlessness' which includes three sub-themes: being restrained by others' omission, being trapped in ethically demanding situations and failing to live up to others' expectations. The second theme is 'being inadequate' which includes two sub-themes: lacking courage to maintain one's opinion and feeling incompetent. The NAs' lived experience of troubled conscience was formulated in the two themes. The first is 'being hindered by pre-determined conditions' which includes two sub-themes: suffering from lack of focus in one's work and being restrained by the organisation. The second theme is 'being inadequate' which includes two sub-themes: lacking the courage to object and being negligent.The RNs' lived experience of troubled conscience were feelings of being trapped in a state of powerlessness, caught in a struggle between responsibility and authority and a sense of inadequacy fuelled by feelings of incompetence, a lack of courage and a fear of revealing themselves and endangering residents' well-being. The NAs' lived experience of troubled conscience was feelings of being hindered by pre-determined conditions, facing a fragmented work situation hovering between norms and rules and convictions of their conscience. To not endangering the atmosphere in the work-team they are submissive to the norms of their co-workers. They felt inadequate as they should be model care providers. The findings were interpreted in the light of Fromm's authoritarian and humanistic conscience.

Living in close emotional and physical proximity to a person who has suffered a stroke may alter almost every aspect of daily living and will inevitably impact family life. Age seems to be a factor in the experiences of stroke sufferers' close relatives after the stroke.This study aimed to illuminate the experience of being a middle-aged close relative of a person who has suffered a stroke; 1 year after the stroke sufferer's discharge from a rehabilitation clinic.Nine middle-aged close relatives of persons with a confirmed diagnosis of a first-time stroke were consecutively included in the study and interviewed.The narrative interviews were audio-taped, transcribed verbatim and analyzed using a thematic content analysis. The study was part of a longitudinal study.Four themes emerged from the data, intertwined and in conflict with one another. A turning point was reached, and the inevitability of an altered future became self-evident, so much so that the middle-aged close relatives felt forced to accept and become reconciled to a changed way of living, even if feelings of grief from loss were still present. The middle-aged close relatives' process of coming to awareness and recognition of their own needs was part of a complex interplay of emotions, in which they learned to leave feelings of shame and guilt behind. They experienced movement from self-denial to self-recognition in their search for their own well-being and the recovery of their strength for a functioning family life. Even if they experienced a greater sense of freedom, they still face living life within limits. A significant challenge appears to be the effects of the personality changes among the person with a stroke, and the resulting sense of being an outsider. Relatives struggled with health care providers for visibility and confirmation. Their experiences were ones of standing alone, outside a closing door to the rehabilitation. Their ability to work, the benefits of functioning home care, and support from their family helped them through these challenges.This study highlights the middle-aged relatives' realization that they will live an inevitability altered future. Individually, the stroke sufferer's relatives need support in their relationships within the family for emotional confirmation and to help them recognize and verbalize their needs without feeling guilt; gaining these supportive factors may help the relatives to recover their sense of well-being and give strength for a future, properly functioning family life.