How do nurses deal with their emotions on a burn unit? Hermeneutic inquiry

Abstract

Burn unit nurses work in an emotionally exhausting environment and are frequently exposed to emotional trauma. Emotion is a difficult concept to define. This study used a hermeneutic-phenomenological approach to establish the experiences of nurses working on a burn unit to find out how they deal with their emotions. The findings suggest that nurses have little or no time to deal with their emotional experiences. This study has shown that current support services might be ineffective. Nurses realize that they have emotions. They also recognize the need to address these emotions. Recommendations for nursing practice are made as a result of these findings.

Enhancing life prospects of socially vulnerable youth through sport participation: a mixed methods study

“…Through reading the transcripts and interpreting the described phenomena, the experiences of the youngsters can be contextualised and understood in light of these theories. The hermeneutical approach consists of a dialogue between the researcher and the text and, hence, the understanding of phenomena is always biased [59,60]. The aim of the hermeneutical study is then to provide one unique and partial understanding of how youngsters experience sport activities in relation to their personal development.…”

Developing support strategies for burn care nurses through an understanding of their experiences: A meta‐ethnographic study

“…Three focused broadly on nurses' experiences with caring for burned patients (Bayuo, 2017;Kornhaber, 2009;Martins et al, 2014). Two studies focused specifically on emotional experiences (Cronin, 2001;Hilliard & O'Neill, 2010), whilst two focused on nursing children with burns (Isaac, 2007;Soares & Tacla, 2014). Two studies focused on nurses' experiences with pain management (Olsson, 2011;Nagy, 1998), and one study focused on experiences of paediatric burn nurses following the death of a patient (Kellogg, Barker, & McCune, 2014).…”

“…This development enables them to undertake the most difficult work and deliver complex repetitive care (Bayuo, 2017;Martins et al, 2014). Nagy (1998) however notes that in the process of development, the burn care nurse may experience dwindling compassion, a feature that Cronin (2001) has described as emotional toughness. However, Kornhaber (2009) has specified that even though the burn care nurse may experience dwindling compassion over the years, they still maintain their humanness.…”

“…Participants' knowledge and skill developed with experience, helping to offset their anxiety as junior nurses, and bestowed a sense of satisfaction that they were able to positively contribute to children's care" (Hilliard & O'Neill, 2010) "Toughening up, emotional toughness, and emotional detachment were fundamental elements evident in all participants. The participants felt it necessary to be emotionally tough and emotionally detached to facilitate patient compliance … without losing your humanity" (Kornhaber, 2009) "Certain personality characteristics are evident on the unit, including confidence, control and hardiness" (Cronin, 2001) Nurse-burned patient/family relationship The relationship is established on trust and filled with empathy, compassion and understanding towards the patient and family.…”

“…This is because the nurse had to provide greater amount of care such as meeting personal care needs and frequent position changes in bed as the severely burned patient was most often confined to bed" (Bayuo, 2017) "When events occur 'out of the blue' or is beyond a person's level of control the consequence may mean an increased workload that is intense and demanding" (Isaac, 2006) "The findings from this study have highlighted the unpredictable nature of burn-unit nursing. The environment poses both physical and psychological demand" (Cronin, 2001) Nurses' emotional responses The nature of burn injury and its care evokes varied emotions among the nursing team "Helplessness was another theme that was strongly expressed during the interviews. Many nurses feel the overwhelming need to fix things and make things better.…”