Nurses' work in intensive care units: feelings of suffering

Authors

  • Júlia Trevisan Martins OMS
  • Maria Lúcia do Carmo Cruz Robazzi OMS

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1590/S0104-11692009000100009

Keywords:

stress, psychological, intensive care units, worker's health

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the feelings of suffering that Intensive Care Unit (ICU) nurses experience, and the strategies they use to face these feelings. It is a descriptive study using a qualitative approach and based on content analysis. The study used previous studies on Work Psychodynamics as complementary groundwork. Data collection occurred by means of semi-structured interviews, which were transcribed, categorized, and subcategorized. Results showed that suffering is related to: taking care of a young patient in critical condition, taking problems home, the patient's family, the team's work, and technology at work. As for the defense strategies used, emphasis is given to the search for strength in religion, promoting inter-relationships among team members, engaging in physical activity, and withdrawing from the patient.

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Published

2009-02-01

Issue

Vol. 17 No. 1 (2009)

Section

Original Articles

License

RLAE’s authorship concept is based on the substantial contribution by each of the individuals listed as authors, mainly in terms of conceiving and planning the research project, collecting or analyzing and interpreting data, writing and critical review. Indication of authors’ names under the article title is limited to six. If more, authors are listed on the online submission form under Acknowledgements. The possibility of including more than six authors will only be examined on multicenter studies, considering the explanations presented by the authors.
Including names of authors whose contribution does not fit into the above criteria cannot be justified. Those names can be included in the Acknowledgements section.
 Authors are fully responsible for the concepts disseminated in their manuscripts, which do not necessarily reflect the editors’ and editorial board’s opinion.

 

How to Cite

Nurses’ work in intensive care units: feelings of suffering. (2009). Revista Latino-Americana De Enfermagem, 17(1), 52-58. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0104-11692009000100009