Background: Due to a high influx of refugees in the last decades, which will most likely continue to increase, a need for the healthcare to be involved in taking care of these refugees has been established. People on the run has often lived under difficult circumstances for a long period of time which leaves them exposed which in turn can lead to vulnerable situations. According to the code of ethics it is therefore important that the nurses therefore treat all people with respect and dignity, regardless of their cultural origin or background, in order for everyone to receive the care they are entitled to.

Aim: The aim of this study was to describe nurses experiences encountering refugees within the healthcare system.

Method: 11 scientific articles, ten articles was qualitative and one was a mixed method, was the base of this literature study.

Results: The main findings of this study showed that nurses do find it challenging to deal with people from different backgrounds and the cultural variances that comes with it. This is not made easier by the constant time pressure they are being under. Difficulties when it comes to working with interpreters was also seen as a subject that determined the nurses experiences. The relationship between the nurse and the refugee was seen as important but could complemented by guidelines that doesn´t correspond with the code of ethics.

Discussion: Based on these results it was apparent that nurse´s did not have enough competence when it comes to handling cultural differences when meeting with refugees which displayed a need for an expanded education with main focus being on culture and the nurse´s approach. As communication and culture was fundamental throughout the result it was discussed with the support of Madeleine Leininger's transcultural nursing theory.