A qualitative study of head nurses’ experience in China: forced growth during patient safety incidents

Abstract

Abstract Background In patient safety accidents, nurse managers are indirectly victimized by the pressures from many aspects and become the second victim. This study delves into the experiences of nurse managers in China, aiming to uncover their cognition and provide reference for relevant managers. Methods A descriptive phenomenological approach was used to gain insight into the inner reality of nurse leaders’ experiences and management perceptions of experiencing patient safety incidents. The data of 15 nurse leaders who experienced patient safety incidents in Bethune Hospital, Shanxi Province, China, were collected via face‒to‒face semi-structured interviews, and the data were analyzed via the 7-step analysis method of Colaizzi. Results On the basis of the content of the interviews, three themes were identified, the emotional experience of experiencing patient safety events, role dilemmas, the obstruction and conceptual reshaping of nursing management. Eight subthemes as follows: physical and mental health-related symptoms due to passive coping and life and work disorder, self-relief, playing multiple roles with lack of role adjustment ability, blurred role positioning and initial signs of job burnout, event replay is impeded, Inaccurate analysis of safety incidents, subversion and remolding of the nursing management concept. Finally, it can be abstracted as “forced growth in patient safety events”. Conclusion Patient safety incidents can lead to negative impacts, role dilemmas, and management confusion for head nurses, but they also promote purposeful rumination, meditation, and growth. Medical institutions should pay attention to special groups that are second victims of head nurses and construct a safety event support system for nurse leaders to improve the post-training and education system for nurse leaders, help them better adapt to their roles, break through their role dilemmas, improve their post-competence, and construct an effective safety event management system.

Keywords

• Head nurse
• Second victim
• Patient safety
• Nursing management
• Qualitative research