Critical illness and the admission of a family member to an intensive care unit is an extremely stressful experience that may result in an emotional turmoil, high level of stress, role conflict, interruption of normal home routines, and potential changes in relationships among patients and family members. This phenomenological study explored the lived intensive care unit experiences of nurses, patients and family members during critical illness in the intensive care unit using a purposive sample of five participants from each category. Content analysis of narratives elucidated that...