Background: During 2014 a total of 89062 people died in Sweden. Nurses' will meet patients who are in the end of their life. The work with dying patients can be emotionally draining but also very rewarding for the nurses.

Aim: The aim of this study was to explore nurses' experiences of meeting the dying patients and their close ones.

Method: The method used is a litterature based study with focus on qualitative studies. The articles were processed using the Friberg method of analysis.

Results: There were ten articles which were analysed and compiled to a result. There are three themes and ten subthemes. The first theme is about seeing the work as a privilege - it's about happiness, gratefulness and benevolence. The second theme is about feeling frustration - it's about not being ready to meet the patient and their close ones, being uncertain and being alone during work. The third and last theme is to experience stress - it's about feeling pressure, feel sadness and to feel stress and anxiety.

Conclusion: Both positive and negative experiences are shown in the result. The palliative care isn't just about caring for the patient, but also about supporting their next of kin in their mourning process. The nurses experiences can sometimes reflect in their work towards the patient and their kin, which puts the nurses in a difficult situation.