“We’re all still in it, and we’re all still there . . . supporting each other.” Examining Critical Care nurses’ descriptions of social support, burnout, and recovery during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Date
2023-09-19
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Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic introduced complex challenges for Critical Care (CC) nurses, including unsustainable workloads, heightened exposure to secondary trauma, unpredictable work environments, and other significant personal and professional challenges. Rates of burnout and job attrition have reached concerning heights, indicating a need for change in our healthcare system. Social bonds are crucial for wellbeing and survival and can be deepened or compromised in the high-stress environments and changing social landscapes which have resulted from the pandemic. The following research question guided this research: how did CC nurses describe social support as helping or hindering to burnout and recovery while working the frontlines during the COVID-19 pandemic? I conducted this study as a secondary analysis of interviews investigating what helped and hindered CC nurses’ experiences of burnout and recovery during the pandemic. Using reflexive thematic analysis (RTA), I constructed five main themes (institutional neglect, opposition from the public, strained personal relationships, empathetic bonding among CC nurses, and accessing effective professional support). These themes enhance our understanding of the complexity of CC nurses’ experiences and elucidate the role of social support. In connection with the key findings from this study, I identified several considerations for preventing and mitigating burnout and promoting recovery within a social ecological framework.
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COVID-19, Burnout, Recovery, Healthcare, Critical Care, Nursing, Recovery, Social Support, Felt Understanding, Reflexive Thematic Analysis, Social Ecological Model
Citation
Fillion, C. (2023). “We’re all still in it, and we’re all still there . . . supporting each other.” Examining Critical Care nurses’ descriptions of social support, burnout, and recovery during the COVID-19 pandemic (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.