Nurses' experiences of caring for severely burned patients

Background: Nurses form a pivotal part of the burns care team and participate in caring for severely burned patients. Previous studies have identified that severe burn injuries may serve as a form of stress to health professionals and as such they may require support whilst caring for these patients. However, there exists limited exploration of nurses' experiences regarding caring for severely burned patients. Aim: To explore and describe nurses' experiences of caring for severely burned patients. Methodology: An exploratory-descriptive approach was utilised to understand nurses' experiences. Purposive sampling was used to recruit nurses from the Burns Intensive Care Unit (n=7). Face to face semi-structured interviews were conducted with an interview guide and proceedings audio-recorded. Two follow up interviews were conducted after the initial interviews. Analysis was undertaken using thematic analysis to generate emergent themes. Findings: The themes identified were exhaustion during caring (physical and emotional) and concerns regarding outcomes of care. Conclusion: Nurses face varied issues when caring for severely burned patients and require avenues to express themselves but these are lacking in our current setting. Peer support and other approaches need to be explored as avenues for encouraging nurses to talk about their experiences. Further research is also warranted in understanding how palliative care can be incorporated in burns care. (C) 2017 Australian College of Nursing Ltd. Published by Elsevier Ltd.