Given Singapore’s high population density and extensive geographical interconnections, it is unsurprising that the country reported one of the highest numbers of COVID‐19 cases in Asia. Past pandemic studies have suggested that nurses working in such crises might experience a deterioration of mental health, which could persist for years beyond the initial outbreak. This study used a qualitative descriptive design to explore nurses’ experiences of working in tertiary hospitals during the COVID‐19 pandemic. A total of 17 registered nurses who had worked for at least one year prior to the start of the COVID‐19 pandemic were recruited from a University Health System in Singapore from March to June 2020. Data were collected through semi‐structured interviews lasting at least an hour conducted over an online platform by the principal investigator. The data were analysed through Braun and Clarke’s six‐step thematic analysis independently by two researchers. Three main themes emerged: (i) challenging moments of COVID‐19, during which the participants reported physical and psychological challenges relating to working conditions of the hospital in the initial months of the pandemic; (ii) the professional role as nurses, in where the participants dispelled their worries and demonstrated commitment to their role as nurses; and (iii) support for nurses, which originated from their family, friends and leaders from their organizations for them to persevere and overcome the unprecedented challenges of COVID‐19. The nurses in this study demonstrated resilience and professionalism despite the challenges of COVID‐19. The findings highlighted the importance of a robust support system for healthcare professionals.

The acceptability of routine psychosocial assessments to women and staff at an antenatal clinic of a public hospital in Sydney, Australia, was investigated. 104 English-speaking women had a telephone interview within a few days of the psychosocial assessment, and 65 of these women also participated in a telephone interview 5-8 weeks after the birth. 14 midwives who had administered the questions were also interviewed. These three sets of interviews indicated that the majority of women and staff considered the psychosocial questions to be appropriate and helpful. Prior to introducing a shorter version of the psychosocial assessment for all women, consultations took place with health professionals and community women from Arabic-speaking (n = 30) and Vietnamese-speaking (n = 39) backgrounds to determine the expected suitability of such questions to women from these ethnic backgrounds. The only consistent concern was that the term 'husband' should replace 'partner' when interviewing Arabic-speaking women. Telephone interviews were then conducted with a sample of Arabic-speaking (n = 48) and Vietnamese-speaking (n = 50) women within a few days after they had been to the clinic. As with the English-speaking women, most considered the questions to be appropriate and acceptable.

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