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Background: Many risk factors associated with overdose deaths are described in the research literature. These factors will have implications for nurses’ work with persons at risk of overdosing. There seems to be a lack of studies that investigate nurses’ professional experience of work with this phenomenon. Objective: In this study, conducted in Oslo, we examined nurses’ experiences with cases of overdose, and deaths from overdose, in persons who took opioid injections. The aim of the study was to acquire knowledge about these phenomena in such a context. Method: Six nurses participated in multi-professional focus groups and two in individual in-depth interviews. Using systematic text condensation of data, the nurses’ experience was described. Results: The experience of the nurses can be described as: Different reasons for overdosing, Opening for a treatment relationship, Getting a grip on the situation, and Teaching abstinence and involving the social services. Conclusion: The results confirm that deaths from overdosage are associated with various risk factors, in which individual, cultural and structural factors seem to play a part. Knowledge about the person’s experience of the overdose, and about what can help, seems essential to the nurses. The results indicate that collaboration should be based on a participant position with the aim of creating hope. The nurses’ experience points to the importance of the different services sharing information about cases of overdose, and of discussing the duty of confidentiality.

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