Other Titles
Fundamental Care During the Covid-19 Pandemic: The Lived Experience of Chief Nursing Officer [Title Slide]
Abstract
Fundamental nursing care refers to the essential and practical elements of care that involve the integration of physical and psychosocial aspects of care required for every person in any care setting. The Covid-19 pandemic created unique challenges for nurses, which inhibited their ability to consistently provide fundamental nursing care. This study explored the lived experiencs of Chief Nursing Officers and delivery of fundamental nursing care during the Covid-19 pandemic. This study employed an exploratory phenomenological approach to gain an understanding of how Chief Nursing Officers (CNOs) promoted fundamental nursing care during times of crisis. Specifically, this study explored perceptions of barriers to provision of care and strategies supporting staff in providing care and monitoring clinical outcomes. Data were collected using a semi-structured hermeneutic interview process to gather information which was then explored and analyzed by the researcher. Study participants were recruited from large (defined as >500 beds) tertiary care academic medical centers in the US that have Magnet designation as awarded by the American Nurses Credentialing Center. Interview transcripts were analyzed using thematic analysis. A code book, developed by the researcher, was used to determine patterns and emerging themes which demonstrated possible relationships to explain the phenomenon of interest. Emerging themes were grouped and coded to explicate relationships between research questions and study findings. Initial codes were generated at the time of transcription and subsequent codes identified with repeated reviews. Operational and conceptual definitions were developed for each theme. Finally, using the identified themes, data were transformed into a narrative that describes lived experiences of participants.
This study advances the understanding of the impact of Covid-19 on the delivery of fundamental nursing care from the perspective of nursing leaders. The understanding gleaned from this study of CNOs and the context in which nurses provide fundamental care may be used to inform nursing leaders with regard to allocation of resources and optimized staffing models to support nurses in the consistent delivery of high-quality fundamental nursing care in times of crisis.
Notes
Reference list included in attached slide deck.
Sigma Membership
Kappa Zeta at-Large
Type
Presentation
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
Phenomenology
Research Approach
Qualitative Research
Keywords:
Acute Care, Workforce, Global Leadership, Clinical Practice, Promoting Clinical Outcomes, Lived Experiences, Chief Nursing Officers, CNOs, Fundamental Care, COVID-19 Pandemic
Recommended Citation
Carr, Devin S., "Fundamental Care in Times of Crisis: The Lived Experience of Chief Nursing Officers" (2025). Biennial Convention (CONV). 40.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/convention/2025/presentations_2025/40
Conference Name
48th Biennial Convention
Conference Host
Sigma Theta Tau International
Conference Location
Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
Conference Year
2025
Rights Holder
All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record. All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository. All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.
Review Type
Abstract Review Only: Reviewed by Event Host
Acquisition
Proxy-submission
Date of Issue
2025-11-19
Fundamental Care in Times of Crisis: The Lived Experience of Chief Nursing Officers
Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
Fundamental nursing care refers to the essential and practical elements of care that involve the integration of physical and psychosocial aspects of care required for every person in any care setting. The Covid-19 pandemic created unique challenges for nurses, which inhibited their ability to consistently provide fundamental nursing care. This study explored the lived experiencs of Chief Nursing Officers and delivery of fundamental nursing care during the Covid-19 pandemic. This study employed an exploratory phenomenological approach to gain an understanding of how Chief Nursing Officers (CNOs) promoted fundamental nursing care during times of crisis. Specifically, this study explored perceptions of barriers to provision of care and strategies supporting staff in providing care and monitoring clinical outcomes. Data were collected using a semi-structured hermeneutic interview process to gather information which was then explored and analyzed by the researcher. Study participants were recruited from large (defined as >500 beds) tertiary care academic medical centers in the US that have Magnet designation as awarded by the American Nurses Credentialing Center. Interview transcripts were analyzed using thematic analysis. A code book, developed by the researcher, was used to determine patterns and emerging themes which demonstrated possible relationships to explain the phenomenon of interest. Emerging themes were grouped and coded to explicate relationships between research questions and study findings. Initial codes were generated at the time of transcription and subsequent codes identified with repeated reviews. Operational and conceptual definitions were developed for each theme. Finally, using the identified themes, data were transformed into a narrative that describes lived experiences of participants.
This study advances the understanding of the impact of Covid-19 on the delivery of fundamental nursing care from the perspective of nursing leaders. The understanding gleaned from this study of CNOs and the context in which nurses provide fundamental care may be used to inform nursing leaders with regard to allocation of resources and optimized staffing models to support nurses in the consistent delivery of high-quality fundamental nursing care in times of crisis.
Description
This phenomenological study advances the understanding of the impact of Covid-19 on delivery of fundamental nursing care from the perspective of Chief Nursing Officers. The findings of this study of CNO lived experiences and the context in which nurses provide fundamental care may help inform senior nursing leaders with regard to allocation of resources and optimizing staffing models to support nurses in the delivery of high-quality fundamental care in times of crisis.