Emergency nurses' experiences following resuscitation care: When the adrenaline wears off.

AIM: To explore emergency nurses' experiences following in-hospital resuscitation events in an adult emergency department and their desired resources for coping. Limited research has been done in this area.

DESIGN

Qualitative exploratory design using Lazarus and Folkman's Transactional Theory of Stress and Coping as a guiding framework.

METHODS

Digitally recorded, semi-structured interviews conducted by the first author with emergency nurses who volunteered to participate. Digital recordings were transcribed verbatim. Transcripts and the first author's reflective journals were iteratively read and analyzed using content analysis. The research setting was an adult emergency department in a Western Canadian city.

DATA SOURCES: Short demographic survey, verbatim transcripts, and the first author's reflective journals.

RESULTS

Eight emergency nurses participated. Most participants were women, employed part-time with an average number of 20 resuscitation events in the previous six months. Three themes were identified: (1) emergency nurses' experiences of resuscitation - 'The adrenaline rush,' (2) emergency nurses' experiences post-resuscitation - 'When the adrenaline wears off' and (3) emergency nurses' recommendations for policies and resources. Participants described psychological consequences of providing resuscitation care, with profound effects on their personal and professional lives. Moral distress and secondary trauma stress were discussed with recommendations for future policies and resources to support healthcare teams. Improved staffing resources, a mentorship program, and multidisciplinary education for resuscitation teams were recommended.

CONCLUSION

Participants experienced significant moral distress and secondary trauma stress following resuscitation care. Participants provided recommendations for organizational policies and resources to support emergency nurses and resuscitation teams.