Koyama et al.

2012 [12]

1) Learning how to help terminally ill patients

a) Learning through DCs

b) Nurse’s thought towards End-of-life care

c) Nurse’s anxiety and confusion

2) Self-reflection

a) Reflection and future relations

b) Skill level raise up

3) Concern with palliative care

a) Learning of palliative care

b) Patient-centered End-of-life care

c) Nursing for End-of-life care

d) Worthwhile

4) Team sharing and collaboration

a) Sharing

b) Cooperation

c) Follow-up between staff

d) Team solidarity

5) Collaboration with other professions

Staff meeting and exchanges of views

6) Future direction of nursing care

Continuing DC

Ishikawa et al.

2010 [14]

1) An inability to relieve a patient’s pain

2) Involvement with patients who have a gap in perceptions of the condition

3) The act of responding to a patient’s emotional expression and questions about patient’s remaining life

4) Dealing with family members of patients who seem to have difficulty involved

5) Involving ethical issues

Kobayashi et al.

2010 [8]

1) Care review

2) Deepening of human understanding

3) Fulfillment of a patient’s wishes

4) Challenges for the future

5) Positive opinion for holding DCs

6) Ephemeral feelings for dying patients

Tsuchie et al.

2010 [11]

1) Significance of expectations for DCs

a) Sharing of values and specific measures

b) Improvement of self-efficacy as a nurse and catharsis

c) Sharing peace of mind, healing through conversation

2) A malfunctioning problem

a) How to provide patient care

b) How to plan (progress) DCs

3) Specific measures

a) Planning of DCs

b) A way of proceeding with a fixed purpose

c) Considering member structure according to a purpose

d) Respect, trust, and understand companionship

4) Aim

a) Improvement of the practice of nursing in a hospital ward

b) Growth of individual nurses

Hasegawa et al.

2007 [7]

1) Care review

2) Sharing information and case studies with medical teams

3) DC learning

4) View of life and death

5) Expressing emotions