The Wounded Healer: A Phenomenological Study on Hospital Nurses Who Contracted COVID-19

Abstract

Since the pandemic began nurses were at the forefront of the crisis, assisting countless COVID-19 patients, facing unpreparedness, social and family isolation, and lack of protective equipment. Of all health professionals, nurses were those most frequently infected. Research on healthcare professionals' experience of the pandemic and how it may have influenced their life and work is sparse. No study has focused on the experiences of nurses who contracted COVID-19 and afterwards returned to caring for patients with COVID-19. The purpose of this study was therefore to explore the lived personal and professional experiences of such nurses, and to describe the impact it had on their ways of approaching patients, caring for them, and practicing their profession. A phenomenological study was conducted with 54 nurses, through 20 individual interviews and 4 focus groups. The main finding is that the nurses who contracted COVID-19 became “wounded healers”: they survived and recovered, but remained “wounded” by the experience, and returned to caring for patients as “healers,” with increased compassion and attention to basic needs. Through this life-changing experience they strengthened their ability to build therapeutic relationships with patients and re-discovered fundamental values of nursing. These are some of the ways in which nurses can express most profoundly the ethics of work done well.

Experiences and perspectives of nurses infected with COVID‐19: A qualitative systematic review and meta‐synthesis

“…Table 2 summarizes the included studies conducted mainly in China ( K = 6) (Chun et al, 2021; Dou et al, 2021; He et al, 2021; Jiang et al, 2022; Luo et al, 2022; Zhang et al, 2021), Turkey ( K = 4) (Özlük & Bikmaz, 2021; Ruveyde & Bulut, 2022; Savas et al, 2022; Topdemir et al, 2022), Iran ( K = 2) (Safiri et al, 2022; Shali et al, 2022), Italy ( K = 2) (Piredda et al, 2022; Simeone et al, 2022), Zimbabwe ( K = 1) (Moyo et al, 2022), Indonesia ( K = 1) (Siagian & Rantung, 2022), and the United Arab Emirates ( K = 1) (Khaled et al, 2022) between 2021 and 2022. These seventeen studies involved 271 nurses, predominantly female, and covered a wide age range.…”

“…Furthermore, phenomenology ( K = 10) (Chun et al, 2021; Dou et al, 2021; He et al, 2021; Jiang et al, 2022; Khaled et al, 2022; Luo et al, 2022; Moyo et al, 2022; Piredda et al, 2022; Siagian & Rantung, 2022; Simeone et al, 2022) and descriptive qualitative research ( K = 7) (Özlük & Bikmaz, 2021; Ruveyde & Bulut, 2022; Safiri et al, 2022; Savas et al, 2022; Shali et al, 2022; Topdemir et al, 2022; Zhang et al, 2021) were the primary methodological approaches employed. Data collection methods included semi‐structured interviews ( K = 16) (Chun et al, 2021; Dou et al, 2021; He et al, 2021; Jiang et al, 2022; Khaled et al, 2022; Luo et al, 2022; Moyo et al, 2022; Özlük & Bikmaz, 2021; Ruveyde & Bulut, 2022; Safiri et al, 2022; Savas et al, 2022; Shali et al, 2022; Siagian & Rantung, 2022; Simeone et al, 2022; Topdemir et al, 2022; Zhang et al, 2021), individual interviews ( K = 1) (Piredda et al, 2022), and focus group interviews ( K = 1) (Piredda et al, 2022), with many conducted remotely due to pandemic restrictions. Various data analysis methods were used, such as content analysis ( K = 5) (Dou et al, 2021; Özlük & Bikmaz, 2021; Safiri et al, 2022; Savas et al, 2022; Shali et al, 2022), thematic analysis ( K = 4) (Khaled et al, 2022; Ruveyde & Bulut, 2022; Topdemir et al, 2022; Zhang et al, 2021), and Colaizzi's Seven‐step analysis ( K = 4) (Chun et al, 2021; Jiang et al, 2022; Luo et al, 2022; Siagian & Rantung, 2022).…”

“…This theme delves into the emotional experiences of nurses when testing positive for COVID‐19 (He et al, 2021; Ruveyde & Bulut, 2022; Siagian & Rantung, 2022; Simeone et al, 2022), during quarantine and therapy (Chun et al, 2021; Dou et al, 2021; He et al, 2021; Khaled et al, 2022; Luo et al, 2022; Moyo et al, 2022; Özlük & Bikmaz, 2021; Piredda et al, 2022; Ruveyde & Bulut, 2022; Safiri et al, 2022; Siagian & Rantung, 2022; Simeone et al, 2022; Topdemir et al, 2022), and after recovery (Dou et al, 2021; Ruveyde & Bulut, 2022). It encompasses a wide range of emotions such as disbelief, shock, sadness, anxiety, fear, anger, and confusion, often accompanied by psychological stress.…”

The evolution of research on depression during COVID-19: A visual analysis using Co-Occurrence and VOSviewer

“…For example, Bäuerle et al found that the public mental health burden in Germany significantly increased during the COVID-19 pandemic (78). Notably, panic after infection, social isolation during treatment, and implicit discrimination after recovery were important causes of depression during COVID-19 in confirmed individuals (79,80).…”

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on job satisfaction among professionally active nurses in five European countries

“…Nursing staff were concerned about their and their family's health. They were fully aware that they could be a potential source of infection for their family members ( 10 ). As the analyses reveal, the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly contributed to not only willingness, yet actual resignation among the nursing teams ( 11 ).…”