Pediatric nurses’ experiences with exposure to children’s traumatic events. Qualitative study

Pediatric nurses care for some of the most vulnerable and innocent members of society. The repeated witnessing of patient suffering can lead to emotional exhaustion and a desire to leave the profession. The purpose of this qualitative, interpretive and descriptive study was to examine the experiences of nurses in witnessing and participating in the suffering and traumatic experiences of their patients. A maximum variation, purposive sampling technique was used to recruit 17 participants. Analysis of the interview data revealed an overarching theme of Balancing the needs of the child, parent, and nurse. Four themes were identified: Defining traumatic experiences, managing the burden of professional responsibility and other conflicting emotions, Preventing further traumatization, and making a difference. The results of this study have significance for advancing nursing education to better prepare nurses for their role in caring for traumatized children and for improve nurses’ working environments, self-care, job satisfaction, and retention.