Entering the Nursing Workforce during a Pandemic: An Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) Study

Abstract

Background: In March of 2020, COVID-19 was declared to be a worldwide pandemic (WHO, 2022a). Since the pandemic was declared, various resources worldwide have been exhausted to accommodate the needs of the public; nurses have been significantly impacted by COVID. Although there is an overwhelming need for nurses to support the healthcare sector, there remains a critical worldwide shortage of nurses, including Registered Nurses (RNs), Registered Practical Nurses (RPNs) and Licensed Practical Nurses (LPNs). In the next decade, there will be a vacancy of 13 million nurses worldwide (Buchan et al., 2022). Novice nurses are graduating into a global pandemic that has exacerbated existing nursing shortage problems, unsafe patient ratios, increasing nursing vacancies, and severe burnout. Little is known about the lived experience of novice nurses working in this pandemic context. Research Question: What is the experience of novice nurses working during the COVID-19 pandemic in Ontario? Methods: A qualitative study was conducted, using Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis. Sample: 6 registered nurses were recruited who had graduated from a BScN program from 2019 to the present. The mean age was 25 years and the average number of years practicing nursing was 2.92 years. Semi-structured interviews were conducted, and data were analyzed. The overarching theme, COVID-19 as a catalyst was generated. Within this theme, three subthemes emerged: burnout, moral injury, and lack of nursing support. Conclusions: Burnout and lack of nursing support are concepts that have corroborated and added to pre-existing literature. Knowledge gleaned from this study has brought attention to moral injury and its negative psychological impact on novice nurses. Future research should focus on incidence and prevalence of moral injury in nurses in all areas of practice and education. Further, education and support of nurses should consider the development of coping skills that incorporate the tools of moral courage and moral resilience for all levels of nursing leadership.