Lived experiences of nurses providing altruistic care to patients with COVID-19

BACKGROUND: The difficulty of providing care to patients with COVID-19 and the extensive social changes caused by COVID-19 have made the experience of providing care to these patients unique. The present study was conducted to explore the lived experiences of nurses providing altruistic care to patients with COVID-19. METHODS: The present qualitative phenomenological study was conducted in spring 2020 on 12 nurses (8 women and 4 men) selected by purposive sampling from hospitals admitting patients with COVID-19 in Tehran, Iran. Data were collected through open, in-depth, semi-structured interviews and were analyzed using the Glaizer technique. FINDINGS: The lived experiences of nurses dealing with COVID-19 included: Disquietude, with subcategories including shock and the dilemma of staying or leaving; Intellectuality, with subcategories including patience, self-sacrifice, spiritual growth; Human transcendence, with subcategories including love of the profession, community's appreciation, and improving the value of nursing. DISCUSSION: Nurses' experience of providing patient care has a transcendental nature, such that nurses went from the usual fears to transcendence in internal and social aspects. The experience of passing through these stages took place over a short period of time, and nurses felt good about this achievement. Despite the difficult circumstances, patient care was not unpleasant for them; rather, it made them feel like a superhuman.