Experiences of nurses diagnosed with COVID-19 and recovered: A qualitative research.

AIM: This study aimed to explain the feelings and experiences of nurses who survived COVID-19 in their care and recovery processes, based on Watson's theory of human caring. BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic was an extraordinary time when nurses both took care of their patients and dealt with their illness by catching the disease themselves. In this process, nurses who contracted the disease experienced the fear of transmitting the disease to their relatives. METHOD: A qualitative descriptive research design was used in this study. The sample consists of 15 nurses selected by the convenience sampling method and diagnosed with COVID-19 and recovered. The data were collected in face-to-face interviews using the individual in-depth interview method through a semi-structured interview form. A thematic analysis was performed on the data according to the 10 carative factors of Watson's theory of human caring. RESULTS: It was determined that the spiritual and professional difficulties experienced by nurses who recovered from COVID-19 during the disease and symptom management process were the fear of death, infecting their family members and losing them, and the importance of life. CONCLUSION: It is considered that care practices based on Watson's theory of human caring will be beneficial in the management of these processes. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: Nurses diagnosed with COVID-19 should be supported by the nursing management during their illness so that their negative experiences will not be repeated. Watson's theory of human caring can help eliminate this sense of fear and loss.

Empathic approach to reducing the negative attitudes of nursing undergraduate students towards cancer.

BACKGROUND: In cases where even professional nurses have difficulty in giving care to cancer patients, student nurses may not be able to provide adequate care and sometimes develop a negative behavior or attitude towards this patient group. OBJECTIVES: The purpose of the study was to examine the relationship between the attitudes of nursing undergraduate students towards cancer and the empathic approach. DESIGN: The study was carried out using the cross-sectional research design. SETTINGS: A university located in the southeast of Turkey between November-December 2020. PARTICIPANTS: Nursing students from one Turkey nursing school. METHODS: The research data were collected using the Personal Information Form, Questionnaire for Measuring Attitudes towards Cancer (Cancer Stigma) (QMAC) - Community Version, and Jefferson's Empathy Scale for Nursing Students (JESNS). RESULTS: 240 students volunteered to participate in the study, and the rate of the students' response to the questionnaires was 52%. Of all the nursing students, 66.2% of them were female; 45.4% had a moderate perception of their economic status; 94.2% had no chronic disease; 90.4% had no family history regarding cancer; 67.9% had never been in an oncology clinic, and 59.2 of them had received training on empathy. When nursing students' attitudes towards cancer were examined, it was seen that empathic approach (ß = -0.291; p < .01) and chronic disease treatment received (ß = 0.174; p = .005) were found to be significant predictors. CONCLUSIONS: The results revealed that the nursing undergraduate students' negative perception of cancer decreased as their empathic skills increased. In addition, the students' receiving treatment for chronic diseases increased their negative perception of cancer. In order to reduce the negative attitudes of nursing students towards cancer, more trainings, lectures and seminars or clinical skills training regarding the development of empathic skills could be included in the undergraduate nursing curriculum.