The lived experience of being a trauma nurse: "Seeing through cloudy situations"

Abstract

From the time of admission through rehabilitation, trauma nurses are faced with the challenges of caring for the survivors of traumatic injuries (Neff & Stinson-Kidd, 1993). Trauma unit nurses are responsible for detailed assessments, documentation of all events, management of crisis situations and providing continued emotional support of patients and family members. Research shows that care of the trauma patient places great cognitive, emotional and physical demands on the trauma nurse. However, the literature review indicated that limited work had been done which captured the perspectives of trauma nurses and no studies could be found which explored the meaning of being a trauma nurse. Therefore, a qualitative study using interpretive phenomenology was undertaken to describe the lived experience of being a trauma nurse. Four themes were revealed in the data analysis: "Being on guard all of the time," "Being caught up short," "Facing the challenge," and "Sharing the journey." The seven participants agreed that the essence of being a trauma nurse was captured in the metaphorical statement: "Seeing through cloudy situations." Despite the many challenges participants faced on a daily basis, they were able to see through the cloudy situations and find meaning and satisfaction in being trauma nurses. The negative aspects about being a trauma nurse were offset by the positive moments. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)