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Background Previous research on nurses during pandemics has focused on nurses working in one facility or type of unit; this study focuses on nurses caring for COVID-19 patients in a variety of units in different sites across the United States. Objective The aim of this study was to understand the experiences of registered nurses working with hospitalized COVID-19 patients. Methods This study used a hermeneutic phenomenology design. Semistructured interviews via telephone were conducted and then transcribed verbatim. Colaizzi's method of analysis was used. Data saturation was achieved with 14 participants. Results Three major themes were evident. They were “the human connection,” “the nursing burden,” and “coping.” Subthemes were identified under each major theme. Discussion This study depicted nurses who are caring, empathetic, and resilient. They had many recommendations for fellow nurses, the public, and health care organizations.

Nurses spend more time with patients at the end of life than any other member of the health care team, giving them early insight into futility-of-care issues for a particular patient. Providing futile care to dying patients is a well-known source of moral distress for nurses. Traditional ethical models are not always effective in dealing with these issues. The purpose of this article was to describe moral distress that is often experienced by nurses providing care to patients at the end of life and to propose the use of a model in dealing with associated ethical dilemmas in an effort to decrease the incidence of moral distress.

Americans are increasingly dying in hospitals. The provision of end-of-life care is essential to providing a death with dignity. However, this is not taught in many schools of nursing. The purpose of this article is to discuss the importance of including this important content in nursing curricula.