Aim: The aim of this study is to illuminate psychiatric nurses' experiences of suicide assessment in their daily work of a psychiatric inpatient ward.

Background: The majority of all suicides are committed by people with some kind of psychiatric diagnosis and suicides within psychiatric hospital departments are increasing. In more than half of the cases where patients have committed suicide in the psychiatric hospital, the patient's suicidal risk assessment has failed and the patient has been able to leave the department and commit suicide. Previous research suggests that suicide risk assessments are important and nurses need more skills and time to be able to pay attention to patients' behavior.

Design: This is a qualitative descriptive study based on eight individual semi-structured interviews that have been analyzed using qualitative content analysis by Lundman and Hällgren Graneheim (2012).

Method: Data analysis was based on Lundman and Hällgren Graneheim (2012) description of qualitative content analysis. Semi-structured interviews with the addition of narrative questions was conducted. The participants were eight registered psychiatric nurses from four different psychiatric departments at a hospital in Västra Götaland. A male psychiatric nurse and seven female psychiatric nurses participated with at least one years of experience participated.

Results: The results showed that the psychiatric nurses had difficulties defining a general suicide behavior. On the other hand, different behavior patterns were identified as more suicidal. Such patterns could be rapid twists in emotional state, strong anxiety, impulsivity and backwardness. Three categories emerged during the analysis process: Clinical Glance, Alliance Work and Experiences Collaboration and Knowledge, and all three had three related subcategories.

Conclusion: The suicidal process is complex and the difficulty lies in identifying where in the process the patient is. Psychiatric nurses have responsibility identifying early signs considered by psychiatric nurses to be an important part of suicide assessment. Experience about the patient and knowledge of suicide is something that psychiatric nurses experience as significant to be able to make good suicide risk assessments.