RESUMO
PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to explore emotional labor experienced by nurses in ambulatory care setting. METHOD: The phenomenological method developed by Giorgi was used for this study. The participants were 9 nurses who had experienced emotional labor. Data were collected between May and August 2010 by face-to-face interviews. The interview was recorded and then transcribed. RESULTS: The constituents associated with the meaning of the nurses' experiences of emotional labor in ambulatory care setting were as followings: bearing down of suffering emotions coming up from the bottom, feeling loneliness when having to undertake care alone by oneself, having conflict between nursing professional and services, managing mind by means of both internal and external resources, getting ridding oneself of conflict with forced emotions over time. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study should contribute to a deeper understanding of the meaning of emotional labor experienced by nurses in ambulatory care. The results also highlight the need to develop programs for nurses in ambulatory care setting to help them express their real action.