Date of Conferral

5-15-2024

Date of Award

May 2024

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Psychology

Advisor

Elisabeth Weinbaum

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the physical and mental health of intensive care unit registered nurses (ICU RNs). Burnout in ICU RNs existed long before the pandemic; however, the massive increase in critically ill patients and the scarcity of supplies and qualified staff to care for these patients put RNs in a dangerous situation. Research addressed this topic early in the pandemic but were primarily quantitative, with minimal qualitative studies appearing later. There remained a gap in examining ICU RNs in rural hospitals in the United States. The research question for this hermeneutic phenomenological study explored the interpretation of the lived experiences of burnout, self-efficacy, and career longevity in ICU RNs who cared for COVID-19 patients in rural community hospitals. Interviews were conducted and recorded using Zoom, with theoretical frameworks of self-efficacy and work-life balance as guides. The interviews consisted of four semi structured questions about the RNs’ experiences, and then the data were analyzed using Hycner’s method. Understanding the current mental health status of ICU RNs and their views toward career longevity illuminates a need for intervention to protect this vital workforce. Of the seven RNs who participated, six experienced burnout, and five left bedside nursing or planned to do so earlier than previously thought, indicating a concerning trend for ICU RNs. Future research should assess the RNs who left ICU nursing during the pandemic and an evaluation of those who remained after exposure to a massive number of deaths during the crisis. Based on these results, positive social change may be possible through a new concept: the embattled nurse’s syndrome which can be used to evaluate RNs’ mental health.

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