How Do Nurses Experience Relational Work in the Emergency Department—Qualitative Study

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INTRODUCTION: This study aimed to explore how nurses experience relational work in the emergency department. METHODS: A qualitative design with 34 focus group interviews using an abductive thematic analysis were completed for this study. Participants were recruited from an annual mandatory continuous learning program in 2020-2022 at 2 university hospitals in the Capital Region of Denmark. We applied semistructured interviews in an instructor-supported reflection session on the topic "relational nursing care." Group discussion was supported by an interview guide addressing key elements of the nurse-patient relationship as described in the fundamentals of care framework. RESULTS: Acute care nurses' attention was primarily directed toward the initial patient assessment, rather than toward the later stages of the patient trajectory. Forming a relationship with the patient was highly individual and done at the discretion of each nurse. The key elements of relational nursing were not mutually exclusive, but the findings could be separated into biomedical and relational care, where biomedical tasks took precedence. DISCUSSION: Relational care in the emergency department is optional and individually performed. Moreover, emergency nurses lack a vocabulary to express this type of work. Consequently, there is a risk that patients' psychosocial needs are not sufficiently met. According to the emergency nurses participating in this study, nurses fall short when performing and describing relational care. Nurses need more knowledge to address the psychosocial patient needs during short-term hospital admissions. Relational care and patient centeredness also need to be acknowledged by nursing leaders and further developed.

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