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A phenomenological approach to understanding nurses' experiences working with patients in inpatient psychiatric care settings

University of British Columbia

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore and describe nurses' perceptions of their experiences in their relationships with patients in inpatient psychiatric care settings, with the aim of uncovering knowledge and understanding of this phenomenon. Data were collected through 16 in depth interviews with eight female registered nurses currently employed in inpatient psychiatric care settings. Data analysis of the verbatim transcripts began concurrently with data collection and continued during the formal analytic phase with meaning units emerging from the data. In the final analysis six major themes and one subtheme were explicated to form the essential features of the nurses' experiences of working with patients in inpatient care settings. The six major themes and one subtheme are: one, the experience of fear of being physically harmed; two, the experience of conflict; three, the experience of ambivalence in relationships with physicians; four, the experience of sadness, disappointment and frustration; five, the experience of satisfaction; six, the experience of growth. A subtheme of a lack of administrative support emerged in conjunction with the theme of fear of being physically harmed. The six themes and one subtheme represent the range of the nurses' experience in their relationships with patients in inpatient psychiatric care settings. Implications for nursing practice, administration, education and research are suggested. General implications for nursing research are in the realm of studies which will further nurses' understanding of particular aspects of their experiences with patients in inpatient care settings such as fear of being physically harmed.

Text

2010-12-08

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http://hdl.handle.net/2429/30323

Counselling Psychology

University of British Columbia

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