The goal of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore in-depth, critical care nurses' (CCNs) lived experience while caring for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients during the pandemic. Background: CCNs play an important role during pandemics characterized by highly contagious, lifethreatening disease. Understanding the experience of CCNs during a pandemic is particularly important because of the high rate of burnout within this group, as well as a shortage of these caregivers across the globe. Methods: Using Heidegger's interpretive phenomenological approach, interviews were conducted with 10 CCNs caring for COVID-19 patients. The goal of the interviews was to access a deep layer of understanding regarding participants' lived experience. Results: Themes of role frustration, emotional and physical exhaustion, and the importance of presence were revealed. Conclusion: Themes revealed suggest a number of actions hospital administrators could take to support CCNs as they experience the challenges of a pandemic.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.