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Published on: February 23, 2024
Building resilience in burns nurses: a descriptive phenomenological inquiry
Rachel Anne Kornhaber1, Anne Wilson
1Severe Burns Injury Unit, Royal North Shore Hospital, St. Leonards, New South Wales, Australia.
Summary
Burns nurses face significant emotional trauma. Building resilience through strategies like emotional detachment and regrouping is vital for coping with adversity and preventing burnout in this demanding specialty.
Area of Science:
- Nursing
- Psychology
- Trauma Care
Background:
- Burns nurses experience high levels of emotional distress due to patient pain and disfigurement.
- Resilience is crucial for nurses to manage adversity and sustain well-being in challenging work environments.
- Limited research exists on developing resilience specifically within the burns nursing population.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the concept of building resilience as a coping strategy for burns nurses facing adversity.
- To understand the experiences of burns nurses in developing and utilizing resilience.
Main Methods:
- Qualitative phenomenological study involving seven burns nurses from a severe burn injury unit in New South Wales, Australia.
- Purposeful sampling and in-depth, semistructured interviews using open-ended questions.
- Colaizzi's phenomenological method for data analysis to identify themes.
Main Results:
- Six key categories for building resilience were identified: toughening up, natural selection, emotional toughness, coping with challenges, regrouping and recharging, and emotional detachment.
- Findings highlight the critical need for burns nurses to develop resilience to manage emotional trauma.
- Resilience strategies enable nurses to cope effectively with the unique adversities of burns care.
Conclusions:
- Building resilience is essential for burns nurses to endure emotional trauma and sustain their practice.
- Incorporating resilience-building knowledge into nursing education can support both new and experienced nurses.
- Fostering resilience has significant implications for nurse retention, staff development, and orientation in burns units.
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01:22Burn Injuries
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