Table 1.

Subthemes, code and related Quotations of the Working in the pandemic era theme

Sub-themes	Codes	Quotations
Overwhelming workload	Heavy workload Fast changes in the workplace Unprecedented workload	In the early days, our workload was very high, we had to move the wards and hospitalized corona patients in the non-infectious wards (Nurse) Early in the pandemic, I was so tired and I thought I hadn't ever experienced such a lot of work (Physician)
Ambiguity	Changes in protocols Changes in guideline Advising of new drugs You do not know what works and what does not work Disapproval of new drugs Rapid changes in patients' status	Every day a new drug is introduced, every day a new route of transmission is introduced (Physician) Health organizations first said that the only way to transmit the disease was through droplets. Then they said it could be transmitted through aerosols. They are now telling that it can be transmitted by oral-fecal method (Nurse) As a doctor, we usually feel that we can control the disease, but it gets worse very quickly and there is no cure for it (Physician) The patients were coming today, they were fine, they were dying the next day, young, old, we didn't know what to do at all (Physician)
Losing control over situation	Losing control Feeling helpless Ineffectiveness of routine treatments Depletion of existing human resources Inadequacy of previous work experiences	This disease does not have a specific drug, nor can you predict with confidence who will survive and who will die. This made me feel (completely ineffectual and I felt) like I was losing control (Physician) Our patients (in the past) usually do not die, they are treated with antibiotics, but here (with this disease) it was different and we could not do anything (Physician) Some of the staff had panic symptoms, they were crying and scared. Some of them who had an underlying condition or were taking corticosteroids had to go home and pressure was added to the rest of the staff (Hospital Manager)
The shortage of protective devices and the difficulty of using them	Shortage in protective devices Difficulty of usage for long periods	It's very difficult to wear N95 masks for twelve hours, I feel short of breath and I will definitely have problems later (Nurse) They give (you) a body suit in each shift. When we wear these clothes, sweat flows from all over our bodies, we can't eat anything with these clothes, we can't drink anything too, we have to wear them for 12 hours (Nurse)
Sense of providing futile care	Disease has no definite cure Patients die despite hard work Feelings of pointlessness	There is no cure for this disease, usually patients who are transferred to an intensive care unit do not have much chance. As for this disease, I feel that our work does not have much effect on patients' recovery (Physician) When our patients die after all this hard work, with these protective clothes that are so difficult to wear, we say to ourselves, what is the point of our work? (Nurse)
A sense of conscientiousness and self-sacrifice	Being loyal to the medical oath Self-sacrifice Preparing to give live for others Risking their health for others	It is our duty to work in these situations, our work requires it (Physician) Every job has its difficulties and difficult situations. This is the difficult situation of our work (Nurse) We have to follow the medical oath we took, based on that oath, it is our duty to be at work now (physician) When we came into this profession, we prepared ourselves that we might even lose our lives. This is the sacrifice that a nurse makes (Nurse) It is our duty, and god will reward us with the best (Nurse)