the end of the intensive care period for too long. Both alternatives contributed to ineffective care. The need for transferring at the right time is of importance for the individual patient; for the nurses, so the nurses are able to provide the best care; and for the organization, so that the resources go to those who need them the most. According to Russell (1999), patients are often discharged from the ICU too early, which contributes to a risk for readmission into ICU, since the general wards’ resources often are limited. Three main factors contribute to readmissions from the ward: (1) progression of illness; (2) postoperative requirements; and (3) inadequate follow-up care in the general wards. The inadequate follow-up care was often linked to the inability to manage patients with significant health needs (Russell, 1999). Our study observed one way of following up on and crossing these boundaries, when ICU nurses sup- ported the ward nurses, by explaining unfamiliar elements of care. Having the patient in the ICU for as long as the medical situation warrants is vital for the patients’ safety in ICU transitional care. Having confidence in one’s own competence is another important factor. Ward nurses need early discharge planning (Whittaker & Ball, 2000) and proper education, support that also could prevent relocation stress for the patients. The nurses’ role in planning also has to be clarified, since the nurses actually are responsible for the patients’ overall care*not in- cluding the medical decisions. In order to increase the capacity of healthcare, and improve the nurses’ work situation, it is important to create an educa- tional environment that supports the nurses’ needs when new situations among the patients from the ICU arise. This leads to an increased capacity of hospitals’ resources, and above all, it will provide safety and wellbeing for the patients and relatives in ICU transitional care. Methodological discussion Grounded theory was well suited to describing the main problems for the nurses involved in ICU transitional care. The groups of nurses had both similar and divergent ways of viewing the process, and there were also visible differences between the two hospitals. We began this study by performing focus group interviews, which were interesting, since the informants discussed and described their pro- blems in the process. However, group members all seemed mostly to talk in the same manner and express more or less the same sentiments; the group setting did not always allow an individual to express ideas in another direction. We also sampled indivi- dual interviews, which saturated the result. Struggle with a gap between ICUs and general wards 191 The researchers have very different experiences concerning intensive care and critically ill patients; these experiences have been used to validate the results. Since the classic version of grounded theory claims that data should speak for itself, these preconceptions have been bridled. Bridling in rela- tion to grounded theory can be seen as a way to hold back preconceptions and see alternative interpreta- tions. Each category should earn its way into the analysis, which means it should be grounded in data rather than rising from the researcher’s preconcep- tion (Hallberg, 2006). The literature review had been disciplined and restrained before the study in order to optimize the conditions for analysing the data in a neutral way. Conclusion The present theory reveals a gap in the care culture between the ICU units and general wards. The main concern in the ICU transitional process was that the nurses were struggling with a gap; therefore, more knowledge about the process is needed in order to minimize the gap. To increase the capacity of healthcare and the nurses’ work situation, it is important to create an educational and collaborative environment that supports the nurses’ needs to care for the individual patient. This study will implicate further research in ICU transitional care, with special focus on supporting and preparing the patient to leave the ICU environ- ment. Acknowledgements The authors especially wish to thank the participants who shared their thoughts and feelings with us. Declaration of interest: The authors report no conﬂicts of interest. The authors alone are respon- sible for the content and writing of the paper. References Ball, C. (2005). Ensuring a successful discharge from intensive care. Intensive and Critical Care Nursing, 21(1), 1 4. Chaboyer, W., Foster, M., Kendall, E., & James, H. 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