The meaning of a "good nurse" in pediatric care: a concept analysis

Characteristics of a good nurse as perceived by nurses

BACKGROUND

Nursing is a humanitarian and social field that provides health services. It combines science and art and has a rich history. Despite fundamental changes in the provision of medical services and nursing education, the concept of "good nurse" is still unclear.

PURPOSE

The purpose of this article is to investigate the characteristics of a good nurse from the nurses' perspective.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHOD

A qualitative study was applied using conventional content analysis. The participants were 30 nurses that selected with purposive sampling method. Data were collected through unstructured interviews and simultaneously analyzed via the conventional content analysis approach of Graneheim and Lundman.

ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS

This study was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences, Iran.

FINDINGS

The study revealed that personal characteristics (Adherence to ethical and human principles, Physical health, Attractive appearance, and Ability to communicate properly); and professional characteristics (knowledge - clinical skill - nursing roles) are essential to being a good nurse.

CONCLUSION

Coming to know the distinctive features of a good nurse as perceived by nurses themselves creates an opportunity for nurses to rethink their profession and to reflect on the characteristics of the good nurse.

Compassion fatigue and compassion satisfaction in pediatric and neonatal care nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic in Sweden

PURPOSE

Quality of care and the mental and physical health of nurses are interlinked. The COVID-19 pandemic has imposed an extremely high burden on health care. This study aimed to: 1) describe professional quality of life of registered nurses (RN) working in the pediatric and neonatal care units during the COVID-19 pandemic in Sweden, 2) compare professional quality of life between RNs with and without a Master's degree in specialist nursing pediatric care (MSc), and 3) compare differences in professional quality of life associated with the nursing experience (years).

DESIGN AND METHODS

This study adopted a cross-sectional survey design. The PROQoL®-5-questionnaire was administered as a web survey to 160 RNs at four pediatric wards and two neonatal units of two hospitals in Sweden.

RESULTS

Seventy-one RNs responded to the survey. Overall, they reported a sufficient professional quality of life. RNs with an MSc suffered significantly lower secondary traumatic stress levels. Experienced RNs reported significantly higher compassion satisfaction and lower occupational burnout.

CONCLUSION

Higher education and longer experience are beneficial for nurses' professional quality of life when working in pediatric care units.

PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS

Results from this study highlights the importance of offering RN education in pediatric care at master level and supporting novice nurses, to prevent negative professional well-being outcomes in pediatric care, because the health of nurses is of utterly importance when crisis such as a pandemic hits the world. The findings also suggest that the conditions for professional quality of life could improve through activities such as self-care, time for reflection, better working hours, competence-adjusted salary, and educational opportunities.

Understanding the concept of compassion from the perspectives of nurses

BACKGROUND

The high level of satisfaction of users of a health service is largely due to the fact that they receive excellent care from healthcare professionals. Compassionate care is an essential component of excellent care. But what do nurses understand compassion to be?

RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

To analyse the concept of compassion from the perspective of nurses in the Andalusian Public Health System, Spain.

RESEARCH DESIGN

This is a qualitative study following the grounded theory model. Four focus groups and 25 in-depth interviews were conducted.

PARTICIPANTS AND RESEARCH CONTEXT

A total of 68 nursing professionals working in the Andalusian Public Health System (Spain) participated. Theoretical sampling was used, with participants being recruited using the snowball technique.

ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS

This research was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the Centro-Almería Health District (CEICA 27/9/17).

FINDINGS

From the analysis of the data, four themes emerged that helped to understand the concept of compassion according to nurses: 'Negative perception of the term compassion', 'Compassion and empathy as synonyms', 'Beyond empathy', and 'Effects of having a compassionate attitude'.

DISCUSSION

Nurses perceive the concept of compassion differently to each other and even contradictorily. This concept is imbued with cultural elements, which adds confusion to understanding it, and is even perceived as something negative similar to pity.

CONCLUSION

Nurses confuse the concepts of empathy and compassion as if they were synonymous. Before considering training in compassion for healthcare professionals, it is essential to clarify the concept of compassion through educational interventions.