From unit to unit: Danish nurses' experiences of transfer of a small child to and from an intensive care unit.

Abstract

In this study, Danish nurses' lived experience of transfer of a small child to and from the intensive care unit was explored. While there has been considerable research that has addressed transfer from the parents' perspective, little literature was found which addressed the transfer of small children from the nurses' perspective. A convenience sample of 19 nurses was interviewed once. Data were analysed following Spiegelberg's and Van Manen's phenomenological methodologies. Four themes emerged: being accountable; being supportive to the parents; being with the child; and experiencing safety and insecurity. Seven subthemes expanded and clarified the meaning of these themes. The study provides a thematic interpretation of how Danish nurses experience in-hospital transfers. Overall, the nurses were responsible to the transferred patient, the unhappy and worried parents, for technical procedures and the hospital team 'at home' on their own unit. However, responsibilities did not always include their colleagues on the receiving unit. It is recommended that transfer experiences be discussed more in clinical nursing, and that this explorative study needs to be followed by more studies exploring nurses' experiences of transfer.