COVID-19 Experiences of Turkish Intensive Care Nurses: A Qualitative Study

Objective: Nurses are at the forefront of the fight against the pandemic. This study was conducted to reveal the experiences, problems, motivation and support resources of intensive care nurses in the first period of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Materials and Methods: The research is a descriptive qualitative study. The sample of the study consisted of 12 intensive care nurses working in the intensive care unit of a state hospital in Izmir and caring for patients infected with COVID-19 virus. Results: Main themes (sub-themes); emotions (worry/anxiety), difficulties in patient care (aspiration, intubation), measures taken by nurses (internal isolation), effects of the pandemic on intensive care nurses (physical; back pain, psychological; sleep problems, social; exclusion), support and motivation sources of nurses (teammates support), positive contributions of the pandemic process (crisis management). Conclusion: Intensive care nurses experienced physical, psychological and social problems during the pandemic period. In this process, it was determined that they tried to strengthen with support resources and gained skills in crisis management.