There is a difference between running away and suppression. This is kind of an obtuse question. There are a broad range of emotions as we all know. Remaining professional is an important part of being a nurse, and in doing so, we sometimes will suppress certain emotions which may not be appropriate in a clinical setting.

There's nothing wrong with showing certain emotions in the clinical setting. I had been taking care of a woman in her early 40's who had gone unresponsive at home. Her husband was with her in the ER and we developed a good rapport. She had blown a gasket (my phraseology for aneurysm) and her head was full of blood. A few hours later after her cerebral perfusion scan showed no perfusion, the husband decided to take her off of the vent. Before we did he asked if their 8 year old daughter could come back and say goodbye to her Mom. The vision of that girl standing at the bedside with her father, holding her mother's hand, and then looking at me as if she was confused why I was crying, will live with me forever. I'm not a touchy-feely kinda guy, so to speak, but this tore me up and I saw the family's response to my emotion. The thing about it, at least in the ED, is you have to shake it off quick and walk into the next room and do your job.