'Powering through': A qualitative descriptive study of nurses working while in pain.

Abstract

To describe the experience of nurses working while in pain and the potential impact on work performance. Pain is described more broadly and inclusive of musculoskeletal injuries, psychological and emotional pain. Nurse have been recognised as developing pain and injuries; however, the experience of nurses working while in pain and its impact is not well-described. A qualitative descriptive analysis of interviews from an explanatory mixed methods study. Twenty direct care nurses who experienced pain in the past week participated in the semi-structured interviews. Transcripts were analysed using content analysis. Guidelines for reporting following the COREQ checklist. Categories identified: (1) pain provocation, quality of pain, refers, severity, and time (PQRST); (2) Avoiding pain at work; (3) Hiding pain's impact; (4) Tools at Work; (5) Pain recovery at home; (6) Career consequences; and (7) 'Supernurse' culture; (8) Stigma and its impact on pain management; and (9) Dream work environment. Pain was described as part of nursing and impacted nurses' career plans and performance. Nurses described minimising the direct impact on their patient care but admitted that there was an impact on teamwork and thinking which have been linked to negative patient outcomes. Clinical practice was an aggravating factor for all nurses in the study and impacted their performance and career trajectory. Workplace tools to decrease nurse injury and pain exist; however, tools were not used often due to lack of resources and training. The culture of nursing that accepts pain as part of the job needs to be addressed.