Open AccessSwedish emergency nurses' experiences of the preconditions for the safe collection of blood culture in the emergency department during the COVID ‐19 pandemic
Author(s) -
Lundgren Gunilla,
Bengtsson Mariette,
Liebenhagen Andreas
Publication year - 2023
Publication title -
nursing open
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.55
H-Index - 12
ISSN - 2054-1058
DOI - 10.1002/nop2.1416
Subject(s) - workload , emergency department , pandemic , isolation (microbiology) , exploratory research , covid-19 , medical emergency , blood sampling , blood collection , emergency nursing , medicine , organizational culture , content analysis , nursing , computer science , political science , sociology , public relations , disease , social science , pathology , anthropology , infectious disease (medical specialty) , microbiology and biotechnology , biology , operating system
Aim To describe how Swedish emergency nurses experience the preconditions of providing safe care during the COVID‐19 pandemic when collecting blood culture in the emergency department. Design A qualitative exploratory design using content analysis with a manifest approach. Method Semi‐structured interviews were conducted with 13 emergency nurses working in the emergency department. Results The analysis resulted in one main category: unprecedented preconditions create extraordinary stress and jeopardize safe care when collecting blood culture. This main category includes four additional categories: organizational changes, challenges in the isolation room, heavy workload creates great stress, and continuous learning. Conclusion The COVID‐19 outbreak has made the emergency department a workplace where constant changes of routines combined with new information and reorganization risk jeopardize safe care during blood culture sampling. Accordingly, high workload and stress have been identified as a reason for emergency nurses not following guidelines. It is therefore necessary to optimize the preconditions during blood culture sampling and identify situations where there are shortcomings.