Table 1.
Paradigm, categories, and subcategories of nurses’ adaptation processes in caring for COVID-19 patients.
| Paradigm Element |
Category | Subcategory |
|---|---|---|
| Causal condition |
Nurses suddenly pushed towards the COVID-19 frontline | Situation without any preparation |
| Situation without choice | ||
| Everything changed suddenly | ||
| Central phenomena |
Complex emotions | Anxiety over the lack of medical supplies and equipment |
| Fear of something that has not been experienced before | ||
| The burden of new tasks | ||
| Frustration with the endless situation | ||
| Anxiety over unpredictable patient prognoses | ||
| Feelings of shame, faced with their own limitations | ||
| Contextual conditions |
Difficulties in the workplace | Poor work environment (e.g., work schedule with no breaks, PPE, etc.) |
| Uncertainty of manual and guidelines | ||
| Patient’s severity | ||
| Inadequate and unfair compensation | ||
| Disruption in daily life | Isolation from family and friends | |
| Uncomfortable stares from people around them | ||
| Meticulously observing social distancing | ||
| Intervening conditions |
Ability to cope | Application of past experiences of caring for severe patients |
| Wits in an emergency situation | ||
| Learning how to work with difficult patients | ||
| Camaraderie | Colleagues whom I can rely on for my safety | |
| Colleagues who share tough times with me | ||
| Colleagues who complete their share of work | ||
| Support system | Active support from nurse managers | |
| Family members’ interest and understanding | ||
| Encouragement from the people around them | ||
| Childcare centers’ help with work and childrearing in parallel | ||
| Strategies for action and interaction |
Dashing first | Handling the situation at hand first |
| Accepting a life with no break from work | ||
| Always standing by for a sudden call to work | ||
| Asking other departments for help | ||
| Enduring on the very last of my strength | Repetition of work and sleep | |
| Waiting to take days off | ||
| Growing stronger to get back up | Accepting the self as imperfect | |
| Acquiring professional nursing knowledge | ||
| Reflecting on the situation | ||
| Blocking out unnecessary sources of emotion | ||
| Recharging energy | ||
| Sympathizing with one another | ||
| Considering colleagues’ perspectives first | ||
| Dreaming about the end of the COVID-19 pandemic | Holding on to hope | |
| Imagining going on a trip | ||
| Making a bucket list | ||
| Consequences | Growth as an expert nurse | Job stabilization |
| Establishment of a viewpoint on nursing professionalism | ||
| Heightened awareness of ethical responsibility | ||
| Changing career path | Decision to change jobs | |
| Preparation for another job |