TY - JOUR
T1 - Unbearable suffering while working as a nurse during the COVID-19 pandemic
T2 - A qualitative descriptive study
AU - Littzen-Brown, Chloé
AU - Dolan, Hanne
AU - Norton, Angie
AU - Bethel, Claire
AU - May, Jennifer
AU - Rainbow, Jessica
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The Author(s)
PY - 2023/12
Y1 - 2023/12
N2 - Background: The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in negative consequences for nurse well-being, patient care delivery and outcomes, and organizational outcomes. Objective: The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of nurses working during the COVID-19 Pandemic in the United States. Design: This study used a qualitative descriptive design. Setting(s): The setting for this study was a national sample of nurses working during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States over a period of 18 months. Participants: Convenience and snowball sampling were used to recruit 81 nurses via social media and both national and state listservs. Methods: Using a single question prompt, voicemail and emails were used for nurses to share their experiences anonymously working as a nurse during the COVID-19 pandemic. Voicemails were transcribed and each transcript was analyzed using content analysis with both deductive and inductive coding. Results: The overarching theme identified was Unbearable Suffering. Three additional themes were identified: 1) Facilitators to Nursing Practice During the COVID-19 Pandemic, 2) Barriers to Nursing Practice During the COVID-19 pandemic, with the sub-themes of Barriers Within the Work Environment, Suboptimal Care Delivery, and Negative Consequences for the Nurses; and lastly, 3) the Transitionary Nature of the Pandemic. Conclusions: The primary finding of this study was that nurses experienced and witnessed unbearable suffering while working during the COVID-19 pandemic that was transitionary in nature. Future research should consider the long-term impacts of this unbearable suffering on nurses. Intervention research should be considered to support nurses who have worked during the COVID-19 pandemic, and mitigate the potential long-term effects. Tweetable abstract: A study on nurses experiences during the pandemic reveals their unbearable suffering. Read here about the reasons nurses are leaving.
AB - Background: The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in negative consequences for nurse well-being, patient care delivery and outcomes, and organizational outcomes. Objective: The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of nurses working during the COVID-19 Pandemic in the United States. Design: This study used a qualitative descriptive design. Setting(s): The setting for this study was a national sample of nurses working during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States over a period of 18 months. Participants: Convenience and snowball sampling were used to recruit 81 nurses via social media and both national and state listservs. Methods: Using a single question prompt, voicemail and emails were used for nurses to share their experiences anonymously working as a nurse during the COVID-19 pandemic. Voicemails were transcribed and each transcript was analyzed using content analysis with both deductive and inductive coding. Results: The overarching theme identified was Unbearable Suffering. Three additional themes were identified: 1) Facilitators to Nursing Practice During the COVID-19 Pandemic, 2) Barriers to Nursing Practice During the COVID-19 pandemic, with the sub-themes of Barriers Within the Work Environment, Suboptimal Care Delivery, and Negative Consequences for the Nurses; and lastly, 3) the Transitionary Nature of the Pandemic. Conclusions: The primary finding of this study was that nurses experienced and witnessed unbearable suffering while working during the COVID-19 pandemic that was transitionary in nature. Future research should consider the long-term impacts of this unbearable suffering on nurses. Intervention research should be considered to support nurses who have worked during the COVID-19 pandemic, and mitigate the potential long-term effects. Tweetable abstract: A study on nurses experiences during the pandemic reveals their unbearable suffering. Read here about the reasons nurses are leaving.
KW - Burnout
KW - Covid-19 pandemic
KW - Nurse well-being
KW - Nursing workforce
KW - Qualitative descriptive
KW - Suffering
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85152950506
UR - https://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85152950506&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.ijnsa.2023.100127
DO - 10.1016/j.ijnsa.2023.100127
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85152950506
SN - 2666-142X
VL - 5
JO - International Journal of Nursing Studies Advances
JF - International Journal of Nursing Studies Advances
M1 - 100127
ER -