[Nurses' common experiences of old age and intensive care: A qualitative study]

Nurses' common experiences of old age and intensive care: A qualitative study Abstract. Background: Increasingly more people in the 80+ age group are receiving treatment in the ICU-setting. The related critical care nurses' experience has been the subject of very few studies. Aim: To better understand the everyday nursing practice in the care of old patients in the ICU setting, the knowledge of critical care nurses that guides their actions will be examined and presented in terms of their orientations and typologies. Method: Within the interpretative paradigm, three guideline-based group discussions were conducted with a total of 14 critical care nurses from an Austrian clinic. Data was analyzed using the documentary method according to Bohnsack. Results: Five orientations characterize the knowledge and the actions of critical care nurses relating to old patients: the respect for the patients' will, the search for ethical justification, the beauty of the job, the own reflection of professional actions as well as the perception of a partly misguided health care system. The superior action-guiding typology is advocacy in the representation of the very old patients' interests. Conclusions: The multi-faceted experiences of critical care nurses are characterized by personal, interpersonal, and structural challenges, but also by positive experiences. The findings offer approaches to improve the care situation for nurses as well as for old people in intensive care units.