Support needs of enrolled nurses working in an intensive care unit

Abstract

INTRODUCTION In South Africa, the Department of Health stipulates that “providing quality care to patients requires training skilled health workers and establishing a culture that values lifelong learning and recognises its important role in improving quality”. For several years, professional nurses have been a scarce resource in South Africa and many countries, hospitals are faced with an escalating critical shortage of trained intensive care professional nurses. In many cases currently, hospitals utilize enrolled nurses in the intensive care environment. These enrolled nurses are faced with the challenge and demands of having to work, function and cope in the intensive care units, despite their limited scope of practice. To address the shortage of professional nurses in the intensive care units, enrolled nurses have been deployed to work in the intensive care environment. AIM The aim of the study was to explore and describe the support needs of enrolled nurses working in an intensive care unit of a selected private hospital in Tshwane, Gauteng Province, South Africa. METHODOLOGY In this study, the population included enrolled nurses working in the intensive care unit of the selected private hospital in Tshwane. the researcher selected only enrolled nurses who had worked in intensive care unit for at least six months in order to explore and describe the support needs of enrolled nurses working in the intensive care unit of the selected hospital. in this study, data was collected by means of a focus group, an appreciative inquiry interview approach was used. The researcher wished to explore and describe the participants’ support needs when working in the intensive care unit. FINDINGS Five themes were identified from the participants’ peak experiences, namely professionalism, support, knowledge, procedures and equipment. Three themes emerged in wishes, namely belonging to a team, professional development, and gaining more knowledge.