Introduction:

Death is a complex phenomenon, nurses in training may face the process of dying and death of people, which can generate diverse situations that represent their lived experiences.

Objective:

To understand the lived experience of the first contact with death during clinical practicum of nursing students at a public university.

Methodology:

Qualitative study with phenomenological approach. It was conducted from October 2020 to February 2021. Selection of participants by intentional sampling with information saturation with seven participants. Data collection through phenomenological interview; participants gave informed consent. The analysis was carried out through the three phases of Max Van Manen's hermeneutic phenomenological method (description, interpretation, description plus interpretation).

Results:

The students refer to having been faced with the phenomenon in a state of helplessness, blockage, uncertainty, and fear; as well as facing death in a professional and reflective manner in order to provide quality care.

Discussion:

Death is a natural process; however, the first experiences are diverse and can produce in the students a set of emotions that condition their capacity to act, the way of adapting and observing the needs that arise during this experience.

Conclusion:

The experiences of nursing students show that they have difficulties in facing death, but it was not an impediment to provide the necessary care; it is considered that a deeper preparation on the process of dying can be favorable for their performance as professionals.

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