Safety and comfort work of nurses glimpsed through patient narratives

The everyday work done by nurses in hospital has a taken-for-granted character, yet it has great significance for patient safety, comfort and satisfaction with care. Perceptions of how adequately this work is done have a bearing on the public image of, and the community's confidence in, the professional nurse. A qualitative exploration of patients' perceptions and experiences of comfort and discomfort provided glimpses of the safety and comfort work of nurses. This work was conceptualized as 'anticipating, managing and limiting threat and vulnerability.' Safety work, which is clearly intended to protect and to comfort, was generally recognizable to informants, but was at other times unobtrusive and puzzling. In addition, nurses' work could take on a routine character, which was disconcerting and uncomfortable for informants. Nursing interventions described by informants as comforting were predominantly physical, psychological, emotional and social. Informants felt safe and comforted when their nurses knew what they were doing and seemed to care.