Background: Comfort is a necessity throughout life, and it is a key element in the practice of nursing care for the patient at the end of life. A particular human need and a state related to the experience and culture of the person at the end of life constitute the target of attention and nursing intervention, being a very relevant indicator of the quality of health care. This article is part of a doctoral study in the field of comfort in a palliative care unit, and these are some of the partial results that emerged. Objectives: To understand the ways and means of comfort perceived by the person at the end-of-life hospitalized in a palliative care unit, their family, and health staff as well as the value of the nurse in this process. Design: Qualitative study using an ethnographic approach. Methods: We conducted semistructured interviews with 18 patients at the end of life and their matched significant family members (18) and 21 health professionals. We also conducted participant observation of care situations. Results/Discussion: The ways and means of providing comfort are centered on strategies developed by the entire multidisciplinary team. During this whole process, one of the categories that emerged from the ethnography was the nurse as a privileged player, representing an absolutely essential role in all phases. The results revealed that nurses play a very important role in end-of-life comfort, which is based on a predisposition for end-of-life care (active listening, empathy, congruence, and biographical narrative) and focused attention (global care, attention to detail, family support, and opposition to therapeutic obstinacy). Conclusions: The different ways and means of providing comfort aim to increase care, relieve, and invest in potential different forms of comfort and nurses are recognized by all those involved in this process as someone essential to providing comfort care.

Background: The context of care determines and organizes practices through its structures and guiding principles. It is sometimes a space that generates tension and multiple choices, variable in the provision of different care and uncertain in its duration. We can consider that the construction of the comfort process does not only depend on the will of its actors and the situation itself, but is also conditioned by the professional, cultural, and social context in which it is inserted. This article is part of a doctoral study in the field of comfort in a palliative care unit, and these are some of the partial results that emerged. Design: Qualitative study using ethnographic approach. Methods: We conducted semistructured interviews with 18 patients at the end of life and their matched significant family members (18) and 21 health professionals. We also conducted a participant observation of care situations. Results/discussion: The context of action, where meanings and practices are learned, is linked to a certain identity that is related to practical, contextual knowledge, linked to a collective and to a feeling of belonging. The relationship between the various factors that shape the Care Context in the palliative care unit studied, constitute the three domains of this topic, specifically: the integrative and inclusive environment, the conceptions of care, and the inclusive factors of organizational culture. Conclusion: The specific context was determinant as a supporting axis for comfort in this palliative care unit. The context of care, where objects and provisions support the construction of the comfort process as an entity that integrates culture, established conceptions of care, allowing the deepening of knowledge.

Simulation is increasingly recognised as a strategic approach in nursing education for developing clinical competencies within safe learning environments. However, there is limited understanding of how virtual patient simulation supports the early development of clinical reasoning from the perspective of nursing students. Aim: To explore the perceptions of first-year undergraduate nursing students regarding the development of clinical reasoning and collaborative decision-making through virtual patient simulation. Methods: A qualitative, descriptive, and exploratory design was adopted. Semi-structured focus groups were conducted with 73 first-year undergraduate nursing students. Data were analysed using thematic content analysis following Bardin’s approach. Results: Students perceived virtual patient simulation as a meaningful and high-impact learning strategy. Realism, interactivity, and group collaboration emerged as key strengths. Engagement with dynamic clinical scenarios supported the integration of theoretical knowledge into practice, enhanced prioritisation skills, and promoted structured clinical reasoning. Collaborative learning facilitated shared reflection and collective problem-solving, while immediate feedback enabled learning through error within a psychologically safe environment. Participants also reported increased confidence and autonomy in decision-making. At the same time, students identified limitations related to software constraints and the alignment between automated assessment and their reasoning processes. Conclusions: Group-based virtual simulation appears to support the early structuring of clinical reasoning, extending beyond technical skill acquisition to foster reflective and collaborative practice. Its educational value, however, depends on intentional curricular integration and strong pedagogical alignment including structured facilitation, alignment between assessment and learning objectives, and opportunities for guided reflection. These findings contribute to a process-oriented understanding of how novice learners make sense of clinical reasoning in simulated contexts.