["What can I still do, what may I still do?"--ambivalent lived experiences and instruction need of patients in the early period after renal transplantation].

With a share of approximately 27 % of renal replacement therapies renal transplantation (RTx) has by now become a well-established alternative to dialysis. However, little is known ab-out how patients experience their new situation shortly after the RTx and about their instruction and education needs. The purpose of this phenomenological study is to describe the patients' experiences after an RTx before being discharged from the inpatient ward or from hospital and to identify topics for patient instruction and education. The method included ten semi-structured interviews with patients after a first time allogenic renal transplantation, with stable transplant function, who still received in-patient treatment. Recorded, transcribed interviews were analyzed using Colaizzi's method. The essential structure of the experiences of patients after renal transplantation can be described as a "feeling of being torn". Within this overarching theme, six sub-themes were identified: 1) weighing dialysis against transplantation, 2) dealing with the organ, 3) the experience of positive changes, 4) the self-confidence resulting from it, 5) the experience of still existing impairments and worries, and finally 6) the ensuing need for support. As a conclusion for practice it is necessary to offer an actively approaching and realistic instruction and education in order to create everyday skills and a higher degree of self-determination in the patients.