Nurses' experiences of caring for Covid-19 patients during the Covid-19 pandemic : A qualitative review

Abstract: Background: The Covid-19 pandemic came suddenly and despite our efforts to limit the spread of the virus many people lost their lives. Nurses, the largest group of health care workers, played a crucial role in the caretaking of patients. They cared, informed, screened, organized and managed teams, making them central to patients´ care in that crisis. Aim: The aim is to explore nurses´ experiences of caring for Covid-19 patients at hospitals during the Covid-19 pandemic. Method: A qualitative review based on ten scientific articles. They were analyzed with a thematic inductive analysis following the Braun and Clarks model. Results: Two themes were identified: struggling with new challenges and coping with new challenges. With the respective subthemes: Personal Protective Equipment, fear of Covid-19, feeling lost, abandonment and growing as a nurse and finding strength within the team. Conclusion: This research shows that nurses faced many difficulties while caring for Covid-19 patients, whether it was the lack of PPE, the constant changes in protocols or the fear of being infected. More studies are needed to better prepare nurses if a similar situation occur, which would ensure good and safe nursing care for patients.