https://www.mdu.se/

Background: Meeting patients who exhibit violent behavior is a difficult and complex task for nurses in psychiatric care. Experiences that nurses have had are mostly descriptions from a negative context but also experiences of being strengthened by these patient encounters. Furthermore, it is reported how nurses handle violent situations that arise, how their impact afterwards and how they view future based on their choice of profession. Aim: To describe nurses’ experiences of caring for patients with violent behavior in forensic psychiatric inpatient care. Method: The study has a qualitative design with an inductive approach. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten nurses at a forensic psychiatric clinic in central Sweden. Data was analyzed with a qualitative content analysis. Results: Nurses’ experiences are illustrated through five categories: Seeing the person behind the violence, Working preventively, Caring is challenging, Facing the violence and Being there for each other after a violent situation which show the importantance of the relationship. Conclusion: The care relationship is the most important tool for preventing patients from exhibiting violent behavior.