Table 3.

Theme, subthemes, and codes.

Theme	Subtheme	Codes
What caused nurses to suffer during the COVID-19 pandemic?	Continuous contact with other people's suffering	Traumatic situations, patient demands, the impact of the pandemic, uncertainty, fear/lack of information, stress, suffering, suffering of family members, the impact of COVID-19 after-effects, difficulty providing care.
	Organisational difficulties	Prioritising care, moral responsibility, controlling fear, lack of self-compassion, normalising the situation, alleviating suffering, empathy, affective empathy, active listening, compassion, changes to care, emotion management, courage.
Repercussions of suffering for professionals	Emotional dimension	Anxiety, psychological exhaustion, mood, frustration, emotion management, helplessness, fear of infecting their family members, fear of contagion, compassion satisfaction, sadness.
	Physical deterioration and social isolation	Social exclusion, exhaustion, loneliness, emotional shutdown, rejection.