Background: Stroke is a collective name for a disease caused by circulatory disorders in the brain. The patients who are affected often have complications that are experienced as a major life change. The complications mean that rehabilitative care is necessary, which is based on a good caring relationship. Aim: To describe nurses' experiences of caring for patients in rehabilitation after a stroke. Method: Systematic literature study for analysis of ten qualitative studies. Results: Nurses experienced that the rehabilitative care in the stroke wards meant helping the patients find their ‘self’, by seeing the importance of the caring relationship, relatives and the patients' participation. The nurses also experienced that the rehabilitative care involved working in a team, where the nurses experienced the importance of their extensive role and the teamwork. Conclusion: The rehabilitative care after a stroke meant that the nurses help patients find their 'self'. They perceived it as important for patients to be able to achieve good health after their illness. The nurses also felt that their professional role in the team was extensive because they had a rehabilitative responsibility in addition to the general nurse duties. It was something that the nurses felt required a teamwork in the rehabilitation team.
Keyword: Caring, nurse-perspective, rehabilitative care, stroke-care, systematic literature review.