This essay’s goal is to approach the difficulties felt by the health professionals towards patients in the terminal phasis. The psychological state of those professionals is described as an emotional burst, in which fear and mostly fear of one’s death is enhanced. It’s important to understand how health professionals prepare themselves internally, so they can treat patients with the required professionalism. This close relationship between patients and caretakers represents a complex phenomenon, which leads to the exchange of values, beliefs, perceptions, emotions and feelings. This essay regards mostly the way as professionals manage to escape this direct connection to death. The sample was composed by four participants, three nurses and a doctor, from the Unity of Pain of the Garcia de Orta Hospital, whose semi-structured interviews described their experiences, both personal and professional, and mentioned the toughest ones and the way to get over them. The analysis of results revealed that health professionals are also human beings, and therefore suffer from patients’ loss, as if they where very close, such as a relative. They also have their own mourning and anguish. Sometimes, the identification with the patient leads to moments of omnipotence and frustration. One of the most popular methods used by the participants was avoidness (what the eye doesn’t see, the heart does not grieve over); it’s easier to stay away from patients, so on their last hour, suffering can be smaller. To cope with all these experiences, some more painful than others, they can lean on the unconditional support from their multidisciplinary team, which represents the place to love, to shout, to feel and grieve. If such a structure didn’t exist, to shelter the events that cause discomfort, none of this could be possible, once this discomfort or anguish is, above all, the anguish of one’s own death, and the one of caretakers and watchers. Freud says that “adapting to the ultimate trauma death represents, increases the taste for life”.

O presente trabalho aborda as dificuldades sentidas pelos profissionais de saúde perante os doentes em fase terminal. É importante percebermos como é que os profissionais de saúde se preparam psicologicamente para tratar dos pacientes com o profissionalismo que lhes é pedido. O trabalho recai, na tentativa de verificar, a forma como conseguem “escapar” a esta ligação directa com a morte. Participaram neste estudo do tipo exploratório, 4 enfermeiras e 1 médica da Unidade da Dor do Hospital Garcia de Orta, que através de entrevistas semi-directivas, descreviam as suas experiências. Abordámos o percurso profissional, as dificuldades no dia-a-dia, as situações mais gratificantes, a função da equipa e o processo de luto. Nos resultados obtidos, utilizámos como método a análise de conteúdo. Os resultados destacaram a identificação, como a maior dificuldade, lembrando desta forma que os profissionais de saúde, também sofrem com a perda dos doentes, como se de alguém próximo se tratasse, complicando a relação profissional e levando a que normalmente se usem mecanismos do evitamento. Concluímos que é indispensável o apoio da equipa multidisciplinar, de forma a acolher todos os acontecimentos que provocam desconforto e angústia em relação à morte, por mais mecanismos utilizados é impossível dissociar a relação profissional da pessoal.