The purposes of this study were to discover the essences of the
experience of waiting, to provide new knowledge about what it is like to wait,
and to contribute to nursing knowledge. Participants were 12 persons who
were family members or friends of persons in an adult critical care unit. The
Parse research method was used to answer the research question:What is the
structure of the lived experience of waiting? The central ending of this study
was this structure: The lived experience of waiting is a vigilant attentiveness
surfacing amid an ambiguous turbulent lull as contentment emerges with
uplifting engagements. The structure is discussed in relation to nursing
knowledge and in relation to how it can inform future research and practice.