Influence of the type of patient in the emotional response of nurses and nursing students

• The effect of the type of patient on the emotional response was tested.
• Nursing professionals and students from Spain and the United States were compared.
• Professional nurses' emotional response was not affected by the type of patient.
• Nursing students reported higher distress and emotional impact with a terminal patient.
• There were no differences by culture or having received palliative care training.

Nurses are playing a vital role in caring for patients. However, this can be very emotionally taxing. In two studies, professional nurses and nursing students from two different countries (Spain and United States) were compared on different measures-objective and self-perspective-taking, personal distress, and emotional impact—when facing different types of patients who suffered from the same illness: One terminally ill and one non-terminal. Results showed that the type of patient (terminal vs. non-terminal) only affected significantly the nursing students, who reported a higher self-perspective taking, personal distress, and emotional impact when the patient was terminal. Nursing students, compared to professional ones, seem to be more vulnerable to the type of patient they care for as they exhibited higher levels of negative emotional experience when the patient described was terminal. The significant implications are discussed.