Nurses' experiences of managing vulnerability when working with seriously ill children

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Nursing
• Psychological Impact on Healthcare Professionals

Background:

• Pediatric nurses face significant emotional distress and sorrow when caring for critically ill or dying children.
• This emotional toll can negatively impact the quality of patient care provided.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the lived experiences of pediatric nurses working with seriously ill children.
• To understand the dynamics of caring for children and their families.
• To investigate how nurses manage their own vulnerability in this context.

Main Methods:

• In-depth interviews were conducted with five pediatric nurse participants.
• Data were analyzed using interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA).

Main Results:

• Three main themes emerged: 'being emotionally full,' 'navigating the rules of grief,' and 'prism of time.'
• Caring for dying children is perceived as contrary to the natural life process.
• Unresolved grief and coping mechanisms for emotional pain were dominant findings.

Conclusions:

• Nurse educators need to recognize strategies nurses use to avoid painful emotions.
• Lack of self-awareness can lead to unresolved grief, impacting nurses' well-being.
• Unresolved grief may hinder empathetic engagement with children and families.