Background: Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) has developed to be a global problem and inflicts a challenge for health care. Increased traveling leads to heightened transmission worldwide where the Philippines is one of the top five countries that contributes to the spread back home to Sweden. Filipino nurses are struggling with a high workload that ultimately endanger the caring relationship. Previous research has shown that the care and management sometimes can lead to a risk for stigmatization among the affected patients.

Aim: The aim of this study is to investigate registered nurses' experiences of caring for patients suffering from MRSA in Cebu City, the Philippines.

Method: An empirical qualitative design was used and based on semi-structured interviews with six nurses in the Philippines. The interviews were transcribed and analyzed using a content analysis with an inductive approach.

Result: Three main categories were identified to be the result of this thesis, "Nurses' reflections on the patients' life-world", "The professional role of nursing" and "Nurses' experience of obstacles in the caring relationship". The first category describes how attitudes and compliance among the patients affect the care and therefore their life-world. The second category describes all the different aspects of the professional role of nursing while the third category describes the different obstacles the nurses' experience when caring for patients suffering from MRSA, and how these affect the caring relationship.

Discussion: All of the respondents emphasized the importance of compliance both among patients and nurses to ensure a successful care and a safe environment. Furthermore, they all had an understanding that the management could cause feelings of stigmatization and the requirement of health education to prevent those feelings. The high workload in relation to a non-supportive government made working with a patient perspective difficult, which lead to frustration among the nurses and the feeling of being inadequate.