Nursing Experiences and Psychological Impact during Pandemic Care
Summary
The COVID-19 pandemic placed unprecedented demands on nursing staff worldwide, exposing them to high patient acuity, prolonged use of personal protective equipment and rapidly changing clinical protocols. Nurses reported significant physical fatigue alongside emotional burdens arising from witnessing patient suffering and mortality, leading to moral distress and anxiety. Organisational factors such as staffing shortages, inadequate preparation and fluctuating resource availability compounded these challenges. At the same time, nurses demonstrated psychological resilience through peer support, adaptive coping strategies and professional dedication. Insights into self-care practices, institutional support mechanisms and the interplay between personal values and systemic pressures have emerged as critical to safeguarding nurses’ mental health and sustaining quality care during future health crises.
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Nursing Experiences and Psychological Impact during Pandemic Care publication trend
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Technical terms
Moral distress: A psychological state arising when nurses cannot act according to their ethical beliefs, often causing guilt and inner conflict.
Burnout: A syndrome defined by emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation and diminished sense of personal achievement due to chronic workplace stress.
Psychological resilience: The capacity to maintain or quickly regain mental health and adaptive functioning in the face of significant adversity.
References
- Through the eyes of nurses: a content analysis of nurses’ experiences in caring for COVID-19 patients. BMC Nursing (2023).
- Nurses’ Work Concerns and Disenchantment During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Machine Learning Analysis of Web-Based Discussions. JMIR Nursing (2023).
- Exploring nurses’ experiences of psychological distress during care of patients with COVID-19: a qualitative study. BMC Psychiatry (2020).
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