Background: As a nurse you will meet suicidal patients in all care contexts. Mental illness is a growing problem which means that the nurse needs knowledge to be able to treat these patients in a satisfactory way. The nurse duties are to alleviate suffering and ensure that the patient receives the care she or he needs. 

Aim: The aim of this study was to describe nurses' experience of caring for suicidal patients. 

Method: A literature-based study was conducted. Eight articles were analysed according to the Friberg five step model. 

Results: Two themes emerged: feelings of insufficiency and outside influence. Six sub themes were identified: knowledge and experience are important, more time with the patient, lack of focus on mental illness, empathic difficulties, religious values and organizational factors. 

Conclusion: The results show that nurses felt inadequate in the meeting with suicidal patients. They lacked enough education and experience. This led to less focus on mental health and more on the patients’ physical needs. Religious values and the nurses' fear of getting blamed by organizations were two factors that affected the care negatively of suicidal patients.