Finding meaning in complex care nursing in a hospital setting

This study explores the experiences of nurses that provide ‘complex’, generalist healthcare in hospital settings. Complex care is described as care for patients experiencing acute issues additional to multimorbidity, ageing or psychosocial complexity. Nurses are the largest professional group of fro...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nursing inquiry 2024-07, Vol.31 (3), p.e12633-n/a
Main Authors: Borghmans, Felice, Laletas, Stella, Fernandes, Venesser, Newnham, Harvey
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acute services
Adult
Attitude of Health Personnel
Chronic illnesses
Clinical outcomes
Complex
complex care
complexity
experience
Female
Frame analysis
Health care
Humans
Interviews as Topic - methods
Male
Meaning
Medical personnel
Middle Aged
Nurses
Nursing
Nursing Staff, Hospital - psychology
Patients
Phenomenology
Professional ethics
Psychosocial factors
Qualitative Research
Workforce
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Summary:This study explores the experiences of nurses that provide ‘complex’, generalist healthcare in hospital settings. Complex care is described as care for patients experiencing acute issues additional to multimorbidity, ageing or psychosocial complexity. Nurses are the largest professional group of frontline healthcare workers and patients experiencing chronic conditions are overrepresented in acute care settings. Research exploring nurses’ experiences of hospital‐based complex care is limited, however. This study aims to add to what is known currently. Four ‘complex care’ nurses undertook in‐depth semistructured interviews and their narratives were analysed using the conceptual framework of complex adaptive phenomenology. Two overarching themes constituting the ‘essence’ of complex care nursing were identified: Contextual factors and attribute/value‐based elements. Creating meaningful patient outcomes and feeling part of a team were experienced as fulfilling, whereas time constraints, institutional settings and systemic barriers to comprehensive caregiving diminished the experience of providing complex care. Overall, work meaning presented as a dynamic phenomenon, shaped by personal and professional values, local settings and systemic factors. It is recommended that more expansive research be undertaken to explore the experience of complex care for nurses. Such knowledge can contribute to initiatives that draw a skilled, effective and engaged hospital‐based complex care nursing workforce.
ISSN:1320-7881
1440-1800
1440-1800
DOI:10.1111/nin.12633