Filipino nurses’ experiences of nursing in the public health care settings in the Philippines : A qualitative interview study

Abstract: Background: The Philippines gained independency year 1946. Health services in the country were decentralized year 1991 and was moved from a national level to local government. The public health care system still appears obscure among the growing population and concerns over the public health care settings’ accessibility and quality remain. Religion is significant for the 95 percent Christians who lives in the country and the population obtain a deep faith in God. As the leading exporter of health workforce, nurses that remain in the public health care setting face challenges of workload in a challenging work environment. This study has been made to obtain deeper understanding of Filipino nurses’ experiences of practicing nursing in the public health care settings in the Philippines. Aim: The aim was to describe Filipino nurses’ experiences of practice nursing in the public health care settings in the Philippines. Method: The design is a descriptive qualitative interview study consisting of semi-structured interviews with nine nurses in Palawan, Philippines. The material was analyzed using qualitative content analysis with an inductive approach. Result: Nurses in this study experience challenges caused by lack of resources and restricted budget. This results in an increased workload and an inadequate nurse to patient ratio which in order create experiences of threatened patient’s safety. Nurses experience feelings of insufficiency in the profession and therefore, have an increased risk of burnout and errors. Discussion: The discussion addresses nurses’ challenges of practice nursing in public health care settings. The nurses are not able to deliver the care they want due to an oppressive workload and time constraint which in order affect the interaction with patients. Several nurses’ experience patient safety being threatened and mention their way of practicing nursing as unsafe which cause feelings of being helpless and insufficient among the nurses in this study. Christianity plays a significant role for the participants in practicing nursing. Nurses coming on and off shifts have daily prayers together which is experienced as energizing for the nurses, as they find strength and wisdom through the beliefs in God.