The experience of nurses working with trauma patients in critical care and emergency settings: A qualitative study from Scottish nurses’ perspective

The aim of the study was to explore the nurses’ experience of working with trauma patients in critical care and accident and emergency settings in a major hospital in northeast Scotland. The study had an explorative and descriptive qualitative approach. Twenty-three Registered Nurses were interviewed using semi-structured interviews. The data were transcribed and analysed using Miles and Huberman’s model of qualitative data analysis. Five themes were emerged as “picturing trauma patients,” “Nurses’ experiences with patient responses to trauma,” “trauma care as a specialized job,” “experiencing the emotional challenge” and “surviving the trauma work.”The study revealed the experience of 23 nurses working with trauma patients and how they recognised the speciality of these patients and the speciality of their work with them. The nurses highlighted the importance of providing specialist training for nurses in trauma care. The study shows that the nurses’ experience has many factors that appear to help the nurses survive the work with trauma patients. These factors include gaining clinical experience, life experience, establishing good relationships with other nurses and nurses’ positive emotions. This suggests that more attention must be given not only to nurses’ clinical experience but also to these important factors.