Includes bibliographical references and index.

As a palliative care clinical nurse specialist and educator, I understand the importance of research-based practice to promote best care for patients and their families. This is even more important when caring for patients at the very end of life, when time is precious and every decision counts. Providing good-quality, compassionate, patient-focused end-of-life care in a busy hospital setting can be challenging. I wanted to understand more about these challenges. Nurses may recognize the "Where did that decision come from?" feeling experienced when we dont understand the rationale behind other health professionals decisions. I wanted to understand this better and so undertook a qualitative research studya hermeneutic phenomenological studyto explore the phenomenon of doctors clinical decision-making for acutely unwell oncology patients at the end of life. The case study will describe the methods I used to conduct a hermeneutic phenomenological enquiry into National Health Service oncology doctors experiences of clinical decision-making and provide an overview of the approach to hermeneutic phenomenology suggested by Van Manen and Dahlberg, Dahlberg, and Nystrom. Throughout the case study, I acknowledge practical lessons I learned during the research process. There are also suggestions for learning activities, which will complement this case study.

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