The Opinions and Experiences of Nurses on One Year with the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Study

Abstract

This study aimed to reveal the opinions and experiences of nurses who took an active role in the fight against the pandemic during the one-year period after the first reported COVID-19 case in Turkey.This qualitative, descriptive study used an in-depth, individual interview method. The COREQ Checklist was used in the study. Data were collected from semi-structured interviews conducted in 2021 with 11 nurses who were recruited via purposive and maximum variation sampling. Data was analyzed used to content analysis. Content analysis of the data revealed three main themes (“Individual Impacts of COVID-19 on Nurses,” “Working Experiences of Nurses During the COVID-19 Pandemic,” and “The Effects of COVID-19 on the Nursing Profession”) and eight subthemes.This study’s results revealed that the nurses who worked actively during the COVID-19 pandemic were psychologically, physiologically, and socially affected though they gained some achievements while responding to challenges in the work environment during the first year of the pandemic. In addition, in this period, it was determined that their thoughts and wishes about the nursing profession and the role of nursing differed.