“All of this was awful:” Exploring the experience of nurses caring for patients with COVID‐19 in the United States

Kellogg, Marni B.; Schierberl Scherr, Anna E.; Ayotte, Brian J.

INTRODUCTION: Little research documents the experience of nurses caring for patients with COVID‐19 in the United States. This article explores the experience of nurses providing direct care to COVID‐19 patients to understand the working conditions and emotional impact of working in this pandemic on nurses. METHODS: Data were gathered through an online survey distributed via snowball sampling in July 2020. The survey included an open‐ended question asking nurses to describe a personal experience providing care to a COVID‐19 patient. Researchers analyzed 118 responses using content analysis. RESULTS: The experience of nurses providing care to patients with COVID‐19 was summarized into six themes: (1) feeling overwhelmed with the quantity of work (33.1%), (2) patient death (30.5%), (3) helplessness (23.7%), (4) absence of patient family presence and need for additional support (22.9%), (5) personal protective equipment (PPE) concerns regarding safety and how PPE can impair the nursing role (20.3%), and (6) lack of preparedness for the pandemic (16.9%). CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest working directly with COVID‐19 patients is a significant psychological strain on nurses. Adequate personal and institutional support for nurses is needed to prevent and treat mental distress from working under these conditions.