ABSTRACT
Objective:To explore the employment experiences of coordinators of In-Hospital Organ Procurement Organization (OPO).Methods:Based on purpose sampling, 12 full-time In-Hospital OPO coordinators in Chongqing City were recruited from July to December 2020. A semi-structured and in-depth interview was performed and the data was analyzed by Colaizzi.Results:4 first-level themes were extracted, including professional identity process, negative emotional experience, improvement of professional practice competence and job expectancy. 12 second-level themes were identified including career expectations and identity confusion, professional values, shortage of respect and ratification, huge workloads, great psychological pressure, influence of the bereaved families, enhancement of the ability to communicate, improvement of problem-solving ability, improvement of team-work ability, optimization of scenario simulation, a perfection of the assessment system, a clear career path.Conclusions:In-Hospital OPO coordinators are lack of professional awareness in an initial stage. While feeling a sense of professional value, they also experience some negative emotions. Furthermore, their competences are improved in practice and they, meanwhile, express a strong desire for career development. It is suggested that the administrators could explore establishment of academic education, enhancement of psychological and social support, creation of pretty working environments and improvement of training, assessment and promotion systems to facilitate the career development of coordinators.