Problem and Significance: Facing the end of one’s life brings about many unique questions, concerns and uncertainties. Research shows that many uncertainties are spiritual in nature, however, there is confusion about what spiritual uncertainty means for people with nonreligious beliefs such as atheism. Nurses are expected to provide spiritual care to all patients, including those with atheistic views but research about atheistic perspectives of spirituality, uncertainty, and the end of life are limited.

Method: The parent study used phenomenology to understand how uncertainty affected six hospice patients. Most participants described Western religious beliefs but one individual described himself as atheist. This analysis will utilize case study methods to conduct an in-depth analysis of one atheistic account of end-of-life uncertainties. Data will be triangulated with other research and sources of popular culture.

Results: Findings will describe how one participant with an atheistic viewpoint experienced uncertainty related to his approaching death and how those experiences compare with accounts in previous research and popular culture.

Conclusion: Nurses are expected to provide holistic care to patients that includes spirituality yet little is known about patients with atheistic beliefs. This analysis begins to address this gap since having an awareness of how people diversely anticipate and experience the end of life is crucial to all providers of end of life care.