Learning from COVID‐19: Cross‐sectional e‐survey of critical care nurses' satisfaction and experiences of their role in the pandemic response across the United Kingdom

BACKGROUND: Since the start of the global COVID‐19 pandemic in 2019, critical care nurses across the world have been working under extreme levels of pressure. AIM: To understand critical care nurses' experiences of and satisfaction with their role in the pandemic response across the United Kingdom (UK). STUDY DESIGN: A cross‐sectional electronic survey of critical care nurses (n = 339) registered as members of the British Association of Critical Care Nurses. Anonymous quantitative and open‐ended question data were collected in March and April 2021 during the height of the second surge of COVID‐19 in the UK via an online questionnaire. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics and free text responses were collated and analysed thematically. RESULTS: There was a response rate of 17.5%. Critical care nurses derived great satisfaction from making a difference during this global crisis and greatly valued teamwork and support from senior nurses. However, nurses consistently expressed concern over the quality of safe patient care, which they perceived to be suboptimal due to staff shortages and a dilution of the specialist skill mix. Together with the high volume of patient deaths, critical care nurses reported that these stressors influenced their personalwell‐being. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides insights into the key lessons health care leaders must consider when managing the response to the demands and challenges of the ongoing COVID‐19 pandemic. COVID‐19 is unpredictable in its course, and what future variants might mean in terms of transmissibility, severity and resultant pressures to critical care remains unknown. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: Future responses to the challenges that critical care faces must consider nurses' experiences and create an environment that engenders supportive teamwork, facilitates excellent nursing practice and effective safe patient care where critical care nursing may thrive.