Nurses as seen by patients: a phenomenological study.

OBJECTIVE: during the various periods of the history of the nursing profession, many differing representations of nurses have emerged in the collective imagination. The main purpose of this study, based on a qualitative approach, has been to discover the images of the nurse that patients retain in their minds when receiving care. METHODS: 6 sound-recorded focus groups were created, made up of patients and caregivers. These persons were members of 6 associations. The recordings and observations made were then analysed by adopting a hermeneutic phenomenological approach. RESULTS: 6 themes characterising nurses emerged: Training; Between flexibility and personalisation; Organisation and nursing; Continuity in caregiving; Professional maturity; and Relations. While these themes do not provide a uniform definition for the figure of the nurse they do present the profiles that had the greatest impact on persons receiving care. CONCLUSIONS: From the experiences collected among the participants in the focus groups, no pre-defined "image" of nurses emerged, and the stereotypes and prejudices described in the literature were also not to be found. Important indications did, in any case, emerge as to the type of nurse these people want, and concerning areas which must be worked on. These indications provide valuable information that, if acted upon, might contribute to the profession's growth and improvement. In brief, there are various planes of activity upon which nurses should concentrate their efforts: training (greater specialisation), organisation (greater flexibility), and the profession (consideration of professional identity in the light of the task of meeting patients' needs).

[Don't see, don't hear, and don't speak: the silence as an obstacle to the caring process. Phenomenological investigation among health staff working in an emergency department]. / Non vedere, non sentire, non parlare: il silenzio come ostacolo al processo di cura. Indagine fenomenologica fra personale sanitario che opera in area critica.

Many health professionals show their concerns about the "professional misconduct"committed by their colleagues. Such concerns are sometimes referred to colleagues or superiors, but they are rarely communicated directly to the persons concerned. Starting from these assumptions we wanted to investigate whether in the setting of italian intensive care unit, you have the same perception. A phenomenological study was performed, aiming at collecting the experiences of health care professionals about the professional mistake question. As a means of detection we used a semi-structured, audio-recorded and transcribed in full interview. The analysis was done using the Giorgi method. Six units of meaning have been identified, expression of the most important and recurring experiences. They are: the climate / alliance and sense of belonging, the meaning of mistake: tolerable and not tolerable, the incident, the emotions / feelings; the mistakes / reasons; communication. The research highlights that the "culture of silence" is not widespread so when a mistake occurs the professional is usually faced by a colleague However, there are two exceptions:when the mistake is not serious, or when the professional to be faced is higher in the hierarchy. Those who committed a mistake, usually don't admit it because they don't want to damage their "image" or because they are afraid of the consequences.