TABLE 3.

Categories extracted based on Ten Caritas Process® of Watson's Human Caring Theory.

Caritas process	Extracted categories	Quotes
Forming humanistic‐altruistic value systems	Feeling satisfied in providing care to patients	“…when we saw the patients getting well and going home, it was enough for me and I felt satisfied…”
Instilling faith‐hope	Effective presence with patients	“…all our nurses and I went to the near patients' beds even more than before. We educate patients to have hope and always request them to remember God and be calm in these moments…”
Cultivating a sensitivity to self and others	Moving towards self‐actualization (moving towards transcendence)	“…I had a few days off when This pandemic first arrived, but when I saw that people were in severe need of a nurse, I went on a voluntary shift…”
Developing a helping‐trust relationship	Care with trust and compassion	“… Although the workload was high, but I tried to provide compassionate care for my patients and sympathize with them…”
Promoting an expression of feelings	Experience positive and negative emotions	“…Because of weak protections, sometimes I was really scared to go to work and my family told me do not go at work…”
Using problem‐solving for decision‐making	Creativity in providing care	“…During this pandemic, I feel I have certain abilities now that I did not have before, such as how I manage to care for a sick patient. It has improved a lot and I try to provide the best care with the least facilities…”
Promoting teaching‐learning	Self‐directing learning experience in the field of care	“… I had no experience of caring for such patients before …and because the lack of protocol and guideline for treatment and care, in many situation nurses should act according to their previous learning and experiences … ”
Promoting a supportive environment	Unfavourable environment for providing care	“…We had to wear personal protective clothing until the end of the shift, and we could not eat or rest at all during the shifts…”
Assisting with the gratification of human needs	Feeling acceptance and worth	“…Although we were working in difficult conditions, but as soon as I thought that if I died of COVID‐19, I would be considered a martyr, I had a very good inner feeling and it calmed me…”
Allowing for existential‐phenomenological forces	Uncertainty (facing the unknown)	“… It was really one of the hardest times of my career since this pandemic came, I had a lot of bitter experiences, especially when young patients came and at first, they were apparently very good, but then, they had cardiac arrest and quickly expired… really this situation and the fact that we could not do anything was painful for us … ”