Abstract

In December 2019, a new virus reared its head and within a matter of months demanded the attention of the world as health care was challenged to full capacity. Frontline healthcare workers struggled to care for the patient after patient with limited knowledge of pathophysiology, risk of contagion, and resources. As the waves of patients became increasingly critical, the task of everyday human connection and care, as well as extraordinary life-saving measures, fell upon the shoulders of intensive care nurses. Little is known about how these nurses understand their experiences caring for patients with the novel coronavirus, or how their understanding translates to what it means to them to be an intensive care nurse during a pandemic. This study explored the lived experiences of intensive care nurses caring for patients infected with COVID-19 using interpretive phenomenology and hermeneutic philosophy.

The findings of this study revealed that these nurses have vital information regarding the lived experience, meaning, and effects of caring for patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. Implications of this study suggest that the lived experience of ICU nurses holds significant insights for immediate application into nursing care, nursing education, and medical leadership. Ongoing attention to the experience of those in the nursing profession is needed to ensure the longevity and integrity of the profession itself.

Description

This dissertation has also been disseminated through the ProQuest Dissertations and Theses database. Dissertation/thesis number: 29062955; ProQuest document ID: 2661409539. The author still retains copyright.

Author Details

Adrianna L. Watson, PhD, RN, CCRN, TCRN

Sigma Membership

Iota Iota

Type

Dissertation

Format Type

Text-based Document

Study Design/Type

Phenomenology

Research Approach

Qualitative Research

Keywords:

COVID-19 Pandemic, Critical Care Nursing, Intensive Care Unit Nurses, Lived Experiences

Advisor

Debra Copeland

Second Advisor

Bonnie Harbaugh

Third Advisor

Lachel Story

Fourth Advisor

Marti Jordan

Degree

PhD

Degree Grantor

The University of Southern Mississippi

Degree Year

2022

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

None: Degree-based Submission

Acquisition

Proxy-submission

Date of Issue

2022-07-29

Full Text of Presentation

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