1Lecturer, Department of Psychiatry, Hamro School of Nursing, Biratnagar, Nepal
2Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry, S. C. S. College of Nursing Sciences, Mangalore, India
Online published on 8 September, 2016.
The study aimed to assess the lived experiences of nurses working in psychiatry ward. This qualitative study focuses on the unique experiences of nurses working in psychiatry ward to improve the working condition of the nurses which contributes to the better patient outcome and nurse's satisfaction.
A phenomenological, qualitative study design was selected to explore the experience of nurses working in psychiatry ward. By adopting purposive sampling technique, ten nurses were included in the study. Although the researcher had purposed to include more samples, the data was saturated after interacting with ten participants. In-depth audio-taped interview and field notes were used for data collection.
Colaizzi's data analysis framework was used to analyze transcripts for this study. From the analysis of data, six themes emerged from the experiences of nurses. The reliability of the formulated meaning, subthemes and themes were established by consulting five experts. The themes are as follows:
Theme 1: Prejudice vs. Strong motive
Theme 2: Lack of induction training and resources
Theme 3: Adaptation and challenges in working area
Theme 4: Better multidisciplinary approach of care
Theme 5: Socio-cultural prejudice
Theme 6: Safety and security issues
The findings of the study shows that induction training of the staff, provision of adequate resources, organisational support, adequate security for nursing personnel and awareness regarding mental illness and mental health nursing could improve the working condition of the mental health nurses and enhance their efficiency.
Phenomenology, experiences, mental health nurses
