Background: Palliative sedation is common in palliative care and a controversial act of treatment when life sustaining treatment is no longer effective. Instead the patient is offered medical treatment to ease the pain and uphold quality of life. Nurses have an important role in providing care, being supportive and establishing a meaningful relationship with the patient and relatives.

Aim: The aim was to illuminate the experiences of registered nurses regarding palliative sedation in the final stages of the life of the patient.

Method: A literature review has been conducted on ten scientific articles approaching the matter from a qualitative perspective.

Results: The result revealed the following themes: The desire of doing well, the lack of influence, to maintain the patient´s independence, difficulties in finding a proper balance and having limited knowledge.

Conclusion: The nurses all shared the common view that withdrawing the treatment and giving palliative sedation were considered morally acceptable, if the patient showed signs of suffering and pain. The nurses also agreed on the importance of maintaining the patient´s right to decide when to deny further life-upholding treatment. Sometimes the nurses experienced their profession as challenging because of the doctors´ negligence of nurse's opinions about care and treatment. Many nurses also found it difficult in being fully professional when affected on an emotional level, by the patient. Another important aspect was the lack of knowledge in caring for the patient in the final stages of life, which could result in dissatisfying care work.