Challenges Faced by Staff Nurses in Dealing with Critically Ill Patients Admitted in General Ward

Using the qualitative approach, this research endeavored to 1) to determine the respondents’ profile in terms of: age, sex, marital status, and number of years as staff nurse; 2) to determine the work and family-related concerns of the staff nurses in the ward of private hospital; 3) to identify the strategies how staff nurses deal with critically ill patients; and 4) to design an intervention. The respondents of this study were staff nurses of three selected private hospitals in Cagayan de Oro City. There were 10 staff nurses chosen from the selected hospitals. All duty shifts were represented in this study. The respondents in each hospital were chosen by purposive sampling considering who had better experience relating with critically ill patients and who can spend enough time answering the questions. Based on the responses to the queries to the selected staff nurses, the following surfaced along the course of the investigation: 1) The majority of the staff nurses then were 21–25 years old, female, single and had a length of experience of 1–5 years. 2) Most of the nurses complained of the changing work schedule as their work-related concern while having less quality time with their family was their family-related concern. 3) The staff nurses experienced three types of behaviors among critically ill patients, namely: demanding, non-compliant and temperamental. The patients demanded so much of their time and attention, are uncooperative and non-compliant to their medications and temperamental and talked in raised voice. 4) To maintain healthy nurse-patient relationship, the staff nurses developed their own strategy in dealing with critically ill patients. The nurses have distinct strategy for each kind of behavior. For demanding critically ill patients, the nurses evaluate their demands and grant them their reasonable demands. The nurses take effort and time explaining to the patients why they cannot grant their unreasonable demands. For non-compliant critically ill patients, the nurses explain to them why they are required to do a routine or take medicines. They also explain the consequence if they continue to defy the order of the doctor. In the case of temperamental critically ill patients, the nurses always remember that these patients are under their care and are in need of their nursing service. They hold their temper, keep calm and stretch their patients and refrain from talking to them in raised voice. On the basis of the findings, the researchers conclude that handling critically ill patients pose a challenge to staff nurses who developed strategies in dealing with them. Each strategy is specific to the behavior the critically ill patient has shown them. These strategies are guided by their role as care provider.

 

Keywords: Challenges Faced, Critically Ill Patients, Staff Nurses, General Ward